Christmas may come early to Meridian as city council members weigh a proposal to add a drive thru lights display to its holiday offerings.

In a work session Tuesday, the city council heard from Jubilee Decor representatives about what it would take to build a custom lights experience. Community Development Director Craig Hitt said his office has discussed the possibility of doing a light show at Bonita Lakes during the holiday season.

“This is a great opportunity to showcase the city of Meridian,” he said.

Jubilee Decor’s Grant Holley said a light show is an investment that can generate additional income for the city. There isn’t really a competing show in the East Mississippi area, he said, so Meridian could see a large influx of visitors coming to see the lights.

“This show could be the most profitable thing the city does,” he said. “The numbers are there.”

Holley said his company’s proposal would build, transport and install about 170 different light sets and packages throughout Bonita Lakes Park. Visitors would enter through the main park entrance, go along the levy to the boat ramp and follow the gravel access road to the exit by Uptown Meridian.

In total, Holley said Meridian’s proposal would cost just over $503,000. While that may seem like a lot, he said the initial cost should be viewed as an investment. As an example, he said, the City of Brandon opened its light show for the first time last year. Over the course of the season, Brandon recorded 41,000 vehicles coming to see the lights.

Hitt said he had gone to the Brandon show, and they charged $19 per car. That would come out to about $800,000 in revenue in the first year.

The city could expect to see further economic growth from people buying gas, going Christmas shopping, eating in restaurants and other peripheral impacts that come with more people coming to town, Holley said. Having a lights display would benefit more than just the city, he said.

Holley said his company’s research shows municipalities typically made back 70% to 80% of the investment in the first year. The displays have a high up-front cost, he said, but the revenue will continue to come in for years and years.

If the city wants to have its display in time for the holidays, Holley said his company would need to know by the end of March. The city will also need to put up half of the money up front, with the other half due after the lights have been installed at Bonita.

No action was taken at the work session, but the council invited Jubilee Decor to come back to present the proposal in more detail. If the council decides to move forward, it would have to determine where the funds could be found in the city budget to cover the initial cost.