COVID Relief Money To Revive Fort Worth Convention Center Expansion

Arlington TX

03 November, 2021

7:34 PM

Description

By Jessica Priest, Fort Worth Report November 3, 2021 Fort Worth plans to use $52 million it receives from the federal government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to restart the expansion of its five-decade-old convention center. Expansion is necessary because it cannot meet pent up demand for larger conventions and convention planners become frustrated when they must book rooms for attendees at multiple hotels rather than one nearby, Visit Fort Worth President and CEO Bob Jameson said. Specifically, the city's consultant on this project, Hunden Strategic Partners, found Fort Worth's convention center ranks 47th in the country in terms of its convention center exhibit space despite being the 12th most populous city in the country. Hunden also found the convention center isn't in the top 25 convention centers in terms of walkable hotel rooms or hotel room capacity. "Our peer cities, our competitor cities are moving ahead with these kinds of projects, and we need to make sure we're staying current with that. It is a powerful tool for raising awareness of the city," Jameson said. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.