Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – The Jonesboro Advertising and Promotion (A&P) Commission heard updates on the construction of the upcoming Ridge Athletics Center (RAC) and tax collections for the first two months of 2026 during its Wednesday meeting.

Craig Rickert, executive director of the commission, said the recent severe thunderstorms that brought wind gusts of up to 80 mph in Jonesboro did not affect the RAC’s construction. He said walls for the natatorium, which will hold the facility’s pools, were 80% complete. He added that heavy rain events allow testing of the facility’s pool’s ability to hold water, which he said it was doing.

Prep work is beginning on the concrete slab for the locker room, as well as the room’s concrete walls. Rickert estimated this project would be completed in six weeks.

After that project’s completion, Rickert said bleachers for the natatorium, which will seat 1,250 people, will be installed.

| ADD US ON GOOGLE NEWS: Click here to see more local news from Jonesboro Right Now

He said the roof for the eight-court gym is about 90% complete, with the next goal to install HVAC units, as well as overhead electrical, plumbing, and fire suppression systems to be installed. He added that roofing, as well as installation of electrical, plumbing, and fire suppression systems, would start next week for the RAC’s event center.

“One little note about just the complexity and the amazing assets this facility will have: Each court has its own HVAC system, which will help us regulate humidity and temperature in the building that much better,” Rickert said. “With the natatorium on the inside as well, obviously, there’ll be some air moving, more humid parts of the place, less humid parts of the place. This will allow us to regulate each court on its own.”

Concrete footings for the facility’s water slides will be poured this week, and forms for the lazy river will be set in place soon, Rickert said.

The tentative completion date for the facility, provided there are no construction delays, is Jan. 21, 2027, he added.

The 200,000-square-foot complex, to be located on Race Street, will feature gyms with courts for basketball, volleyball, and pickleball.

A 50-meter pool with diving boards and a recreational warm-up/cool-down pool will be installed. The center’s second story will have viewing areas for the courts and pool, with 1,245 spectator seats dedicated to the 50-meter pool.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the complex was held in April 2025. Brandon Shrader was recently announced as the facility’s general manager.

So far in 2026, the commission has collected $133,551 in 3% hotel tax revenue and $44,517 in 1% hotel tax revenue. A&P Commission Chair Jerry Morgan said both of those figures were down, likely due to the significant winter storm that hit Northeast Arkansas in late January. He expected those figures to increase as the spring months approached.

Revenue from 3% of the 4% hotel tax is used to fund requests from organizations and events. The remaining 1% is used for various projects with the City of Jonesboro.

Revenue from the prepared foods tax, which is used to fund the RAC, was also down $54,194 for the first two months of the year, Morgan said.

“Again, I think most of this is weather-related,” Morgan said. “We will wait and just see how that trend works out for the rest of the year. I really think we’ll bounce back, a lot of that was weather-related.”

The commission also heard a grant request from KLEK 102.5 for $10,000 for the Juneteenth in Jonesboro festivities.

Morgan noted that the commission typically does not hear grant requests after the window closes, but made an exception due to general manager LaGanzie Kale’s work in the community. Kale said he was dealing with an illness during the initial request period and could not get an application in.

| READ MORE: A&P Commission awards 2026 funding

Kale told commissioners that the $10,000 broke down to about $2,500 for advertising and that the rest was dedicated to purchasing fireworks.

“2025 total attendance had around 4,200-plus participants. We were really surprised by our fireworks display,” he said. “Normally for that, we maybe have 1,000-1,500. But for some reason, everybody just decided they wanted to come see the fireworks that night, which, obviously, we’re happy for that. And of course, we continue to have year-over-year growth and participation across multi-event categories.”

Due to the commission estimating that around $33,000 in grant request funding remains at year’s end and because KLEK was granted $7,500 last year, the commission voted to award the radio station $5,000 for the event.

| DAILY BRIEF: Sign up for the Jonesboro Right Now Daily Brief Newsletter

Editor’s Note: Corrections have been made to this story to clarify a quote, the completion date of the Ridge, and clarifications in the request regarding Juneteenth festivities.