Should Fort Worth spend $700M to overhaul the aging Convention Center downtown?
October 13,2023
See full Fort Worth Star-Telegram article by Jenny Rudolph here.
It’s been more than a decade since Fort Worth leaders began serious talks of overhauling the downtown convention center, whose enormous “flying saucer” dome has been a landmark for 55 years.
When it opened in 1968 as the Tarrant County Convention Center, anchoring the end of North Main Street, the building was heralded as a futuristic, marvelous gem in the city’s crown. Ten days of grand opening events — dubbed “Action Spectacular” — featured an appearance by Bob Hope, giveaways of new Ford Mustangs, a 900-foot ribbon to cut and 2,000 helium balloons. The Star-Telegram published a 36-page special section that led with the headline: “Center a Monument to Future of Fort Worth.”
Today, it’s more of a monument to the past.
The convention center is outdated and inadequate by modern standards for a city the size of Fort Worth, officials say. While the 13,000-seat arena under the dome has seen legendary concerts by the likes of Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones, and more trade fairs and graduations than can be counted, it no longer meets its full potential to be an economic engine for the city.
But remedying that problem isn’t going to be cheap. City leaders are expected to soon make decisions about the scope and funding of an overhaul that includes demolishing the domed arena and upgrading much of the 253,000-square-foot complex. The most recent cost projections, from early this year, are over $700 million — more than double an estimate of $324 million four years ago. With major construction still years away, that price tag could likely soar higher.
Since the pandemic, the nation’s $100 billion convention industry has taken hits. Labor and materials cost more due to inflation. Consumers are pulling back on spending, and some economists predict a recession on the horizon. Plus, other major cities in Texas are well ahead of Fort Worth with their own plans for expanding their convention centers.
These factors beg the question: Is it still worth it for Fort Worth to invest hundreds of millions of dollars on its convention center?
GOODBYE, FLYING SAUCER?
Some construction has already begun on the facility.
After several years of planning and delays — notably the pandemic — crews began in August the first phase of the proposed overhaul, estimated at $95 million. This phase includes demolishing a storage annex on the east side of the building to allow the curve in Commerce Street to be straightened. The work, which is expected to conclude by 2026, will also increase loading dock capacity and improve kitchen facilities that haven’t been upgraded since the 1960s.
Realigning Commerce Street will create space for what could eventually be a privately developed 1,000-room hotel adjacent to the convention center.
Now, city leaders are looking at Phase 2, estimated at $606 million.
The project’s second phase will include demolishing the “flying saucer” arena, adding a new ballroom twice the size of the current one, creating 48,000 square feet of meeting rooms and building 97,000 square feet of exhibit hall space. The work is expected to take about three years and would start shortly after Phase 1 in 2026.
Location Mentioned: Fort Worth Convention Center