Big Plans for Arenas in Fort Worth

July 19,2014

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Reposted from the Star-Telegram

The Fort Worth City Council has put the city on a path to resolve long-standing problems with two crucial public sporting, entertainment and meeting venues.

There are questions still to be answered and plans still to be made firm, but moving ahead step-by-step on these key projects is the right thing to do.

The council was briefed Tuesday on plans for adding a 14,000-seat multipurpose arena and sports facility in the Cultural District.

The new arena is targeted for a site at the southeast corner of Harley Avenue and Gendy Street on the southern side of the Will Rogers Memorial Center.

The annual Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show has long needed a larger arena for its world-renowned rodeo and other events. The rodeo currently is held in the 5,600-seat Will Rogers Coliseum.

And a well-planned new arena would add much more to Fort Worth’s possibilities for sporting and entertainment events. With no current Fort Worth venue providing enough seats to be truly competitive, many big-name acts go to Dallas, Grand Prairie and other sites in North Texas.

The council also heard recommendations for tearing down the 44-year-old domed arena at the Fort Worth Convention Center downtown.

A $150,000 study commissioned by the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau recommends replacing the “flying saucer” arena with a multistory building that would contain a 50,000-square-foot ballroom; 97,387 square feet of exhibit space; 46,480 square feet of space accommodating 25 meeting rooms; two board rooms and more.

Plans for tearing down and replacing the old arena were discussed during the planning of what turned out to be a $75 million expansion and renovation of the southern end of the convention center, including a 28,160-square-foot ballroom, completed in 2004.

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