Wynne advances downtown pickleball courts, weighs naming rights and financing

Wynne’s downtown pickleball project moved from concept to construction territory on June 11, with the city locking in the former Maxi-Mart site, advancing naming-rights discussions and approving financing for the four-court complex planned between First Financial Bank and the Cross County Library.

The clearest sign that the project is becoming real is the property itself. First Financial Bank donated the site to the city for the courts, and a local family is contributing $200,000 over three years so the facility can honor Stephen Ben Meyer. City leaders said they are close to settling on a name, with the court complex likely to recognize both the Meyer family gift and the bank’s role in getting the project off the ground.

Aldermen also approved an ordinance allowing the city to finance up to $550,000 for construction over five years. Mayor Jennifer Hobbs said bids had already been opened, but no contractor had been selected yet, leaving one major decision still ahead before dirt starts moving on the downtown block.

The project has been in motion for at least a year. Wynne previously held a public interest meeting on the proposal and hired Ecological Design Group to design the facility. The planned site sits on the former location of Maxine White’s Maxi-Mart store, a visible downtown parcel that gives the project a different feel from a park tucked off the main drag. It is meant to sit in the middle of the business district, where pickleball traffic could spill into nearby shops and restaurants.

The bid package shows the city is thinking beyond court lines. It calls for demolition, site preparation, concrete work, court construction, fencing, landscaping, utility connections, recreational amenities and food-truck accommodations. That mix suggests Wynne wants a small recreation destination as much as a sports facility, one with enough activity to draw players and spectators into the center of town.

The land deal has come with a clock. Earlier city coverage said the bank deeded the property to the city with a two-year deadline to complete the work before it would revert. With bids due June 9 and public opening at Wynne City Hall, the project is now in the phase where approvals, naming decisions and contractor selection will determine how quickly the downtown courts turn into playable space.

For Wynne, a city of 8,314 in the 2020 Census and an estimated 7,884 residents on July 1, 2025, the court project carries outsized weight. In the county seat of Cross County, a four-court complex in the heart of downtown could become one of the city’s most visible new amenities, and one of its first true pickleball destinations.