Major expansion of Fort Worth Convention Center ‘pivotal’ for downtown: Updated timeline
August 12,2024
See full Fort Worth Star-Telegram article by Kate Marijolovic here.
Fort Worth officials said last week that the next major phase of construction to overhaul the city’s aging Convention Center is likely to begin in about two years, with a goal of welcoming visitors by 2030.
The work — estimated to cost $606 million — will include a significant expansion of meeting space. This phase is still in the conceptual planning stage. Formal planning for the project will start next year, and construction would start in fall 2026.
More than a decade has passed since since Fort Worth leaders began serious talks of overhauling the Convention Center, whose enormous “flying saucer” dome has been a downtown landmark for 56 years. The center is outdated and inadequate by modern standards for a city the size of Fort Worth, officials have said. An upgraded complex could generate an estimated $6.9 billion in new spending over 30 years, according to a study conducted in 2019 by Hunden Strategic Partners.
Construction cost projections are over $700 million, more than double an estimate of $324 million about five years ago. The would will include demolishing the domed arena and upgrading much of the 253,000-square-foot complex.
The next phase to begin in fall 2026 is expected to add 97,000 square feet of exhibit hall space, along with 48,000 square feet of meeting rooms and a 50,000 square foot ballroom.
The first phase of renovations began in August 2023. The roughly $95 million project will double the size of existing loading dock facilities, add a new entrance on the southeast side of the building and update the convention center’s kitchen for the first time since the 1960s.
A storage building will also be torn down to make room for the straightening of Commerce Street. Once the road is straightened, there will be room for a privately developed 1,000-room hotel.
City leaders gave updates on the project Thursday during a topping off ceremony for the work done so far.
Brian Newby, chairman of Visit Fort Worth’s board of directors, said renovations will make the city a destination for large conventions. The current center can’t accommodate all the conventions that have expressed interest in Fort Worth. Newby said Visit Fort Worth is already booking some meetings as far out as 2030.
City leaders have lauded the project as a key part of downtown’s growth. The Convention Center will be neighbored by Texas A&M’s new Fort Worth campus, which is widely expected to be transformative for the city.
“The Fort Worth Convention Center expansion is more than just a building project, it is a pivotal component of Fort Worth’s vision for a vibrant, economically robust future,” Mayor Mattie Parker said in a statement.
Architecture firm Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates Inc. and design firm Beckett Partners are working on the first phase of construction, which is expected to be done in 2026.
Funding for Phase 1 has come primarily from the city’s 9% hotel occupancy tax. The city also received $52 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to kickstart the expansion after the pandemic.
In May, voters overwhelmingly approved a 2% increase in Fort Worth hotel taxes to fund the renovation in Phase 2.
Opened in 1968, the convention center was last expanded in 2003.
Locations Mentioned: Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth Convention Center Expansion