A&P panel to hear update on possible Buc-ee’s site

The Benton Advertising and Promotion Commission will hear an update Wednesday on the development of the property suspected to be home to a Bucees off Exit 114.

The commission will meet at 3:30 on Wednesday at Benton City Hall.

Commission chair Bill Eldridge will present the update on the developments of the land that is rumored to be the location of Arkansas’s first Buc-ee’s convenience store.

At last month’s Planning Commission meeting, the commission approved the preliminary plat and site plan for a convenience store at the location.

Last July, commissioners approved a land sale to CSMS Management LLC, of Pearland, Texas. Since Buc-ee’s headquarters is also in Pearland, rumors have circulated online that the city sold the land to build Bucee’s off the 114 exit.

Anticipation grew last month when commissioners approved the site plan. Adding to the speculation was the recent additon of a Buc-ee’s billboard along

Interstate 30.

Wednesday’s meeting will be the first update on the developments since the meeting in early April.

Enabling the sale was the city’s purchase of 511 acres of land along the Saline River from the Thomas family of Benton.

Benton announced the purchase in March 2023, revealing they would purchase the 511 acres for $7.6 million with a 10-year payment plan. Contracts will be signed and payments will be made each year until 2034.

The land acquisition marked the largest in the city’s history. Plans for the property include soccer fields, an RV park, a swimming pool, ball fields, trails, and an indoor sports facility.