Fort Worth voters approve increase in visitor tax to fund convention center expansion
May 4,2024
See full KERA News article by Cecilia Lenzen here.
This story was updated to include unofficial final vote totals.
Fort Worth voters approved a higher tax rate for visitors to the city, according to unofficial early voting results in the May 4 election.
The proposal, called Proposition A, will increase Fort Worth’s hotel occupancy tax rate by 2%, bringing it to 17%. Hotel occupancy tax is the portion of a visitor’s room tab paid to the city per overnight stay, and it is the main source of revenue for Fort Worth’s cultural and tourism fund.
About 72% of voters, or 14,569 people, chose to support the proposal with their vote, with 5,741 people opposing the item, according to unofficial election results.
Almost 50,000 voters cast their ballots during the early voting period, and 6,434 people voted by mail. About 86% of Tarrant County’s voting age population, or almost 1.3 million people, are registered to vote.
Now that it’s approved, the extra tax revenue will primarily be used to fund a $701 million expansion project for the downtown convention center. It will also set the city up to pay for future tourism-related projects, including incentivizing a new hotel on Commerce Street and funding improvements to the Will Rogers Memorial Center.
The convention center renovation is split into two phases, which are projected to be completed in 2029. The first phase includes building new kitchens and loading docks and straightening Commerce Street, while the second phase will focus on demolishing the convention center’s “flying saucer” section, so the building can be expanded.
The first phase of construction is funded by a combination of $52 million in federal pandemic-era stimulus money and $43 million in debt. The extra revenue from the new tax rate, if approved, would repay that debt, plus fund the second phase.
Even if the tax increase hadn’t been approved, revenue to the city’s culture and tourism fund would have still likely grown, Mike Crum, director of Fort Worth’s public events department, previously told the Report. As the tourism industry recovers from pandemic-related losses, city officials expect revenue to the fund to nearly triple by 2054, totaling $300 million annually.
The 2% rate increase puts Fort Worth at the maximum hotel occupancy tax rate allowed by state law. Both Houston and Austin have 17% hotel occupancy tax rates, and Dallas’ rate is 15%.
A group of civic organizations, including Visit Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce, threw their support behind the tax increase under the Together Fort Worth campaign.
Attorney Brian Newby, Together Fort Worth’s chair, said improvements to the convention center will generate good local jobs and economic opportunities without increasing property taxes.
“Fort Worth wins when visitors spend,” Newby said in a statement.
Location Mentioned: Fort Worth Convention Center