DALLAS — The Dallas City Council voted 14-1 on Wednesday in favor of moving forward on a plan to redevelop the city's downtown convention center, including the possibility of a total rebuild. The city says the move could double annual event attendance and yearly hotel stays.
Council member Adam Bazaldua called the vote a "win" for the city at large.
"This is a win for tourists. It’s a win for Dallasites," he said.
Council member Cara Mendelsohn, of District 12 in far North Dallas, was the lone "no" vote on the proposal.
Mendelsohn, citing the impact of the pandemic, questioned whether the city was rushing into the project, which could cost up to $2 billion and would need a 2% increase on city hotel taxes.
“We really don’t know what’s going to happen in the future with conventions," she said during Wednesday's meeting. "COVID has changed travel. It’s changed the workplace. It’s change entertainment.”
Though the council voted in favor of the plan, voters would have to approve the tax increase, which would likely go to the ballot in the November election.
Supporters of the plan have argued that a new convention center, at the same location as the existing Kay Bailey Hutchison Center, would bring in extra revenue through an increase in events and visitors.
Supporters also point to the hundreds of millions of dollars over the years that have been poured into maintenance of the existing convention center, a sprawling complex of connected buildings on the south side of downtown.
A new convention center would be located in the same area but would feature new structures, improved pedestrian areas and modernized event space.
Council member Tennell Atkins, the chair of the council's economic development committee, said a new convention center would serve as a focal point for all of Dallas, and ultimately it would be up to the taxpayers to decide.
"We are a can-do city," Atkins said. "Now we have an opportunity to grow as one Dallas. North, south, east, west. I don't believe one person around here is going to stop the growth, because we're going to send it to the taxpayers."
Council member Omar Narvaez earlier this week said that while the costs for a new convention would be steep, the ongoing maintenance costs are already a burden.
"We can spend hundreds of millions of dollars to repair the convention center and all we're getting is the exact same building," Narvaez said. "Versus spending the exact same amount, maybe a little more, we can actually transform this area and be a part of downtown and connect everything together."
Mendelsohn, the lone council member to vote against the project, said "we need much greater clarity on the exact finances of this project."
Mendelsohn also questioned the strategy and impact of investing in a new convention center, saying COVID-19 has changed the landscape of in-person events.
"Convention centers across America weren't growing before COVID," Mendelsohn said. "What's happening is we're going to compete with this brand new facility and possibly only get what we already have."
Watch an extended version of the council's discussion and vote:
A recent presentation from Rosa Fleming, the city's director of convention and event services, cited a host of issues with the existing convention center: operational challenges from dated facilities and systems plus a lack of storage space and walkability options between various event spaces in the center.
The city's current "patch-and-repair" approach to maintaining the convention center has totaled $500 to $700 million in costs over the years, the presentation said.
Fleming's presentation said developing a "world-class convention center" could boost economic growth and better connect the complex to the rest of downtown.
As currently situated, the convention center "is a physical barrier," the presentation said, that does not have a clear entrance and offers a poor experience for pedestrians
Over the last 15 years, Dallas has lost 948 events due to issues with the convention center, the presentation said. A revamped convention center, located at the same site, would nearly double annual event attendance, which currently sits at about 800,000 attendees, per the presentation.
These improvements, the presentation said, would also add an estimated 330,000 hotel room night stays, doubling the current number.
The presentation offered three possible alternatives and cost estimates for the convention center: an expansion of the "patch and repair" process ($400 to $500 million), a hybrid plan that maintains some existing structure ($900 million to $1 billion) and a redevelopment that overhauls much of the campus ($1.5 to $2 billion).
You can read more about the master plan here.
The council vote on Wednesday was an initial step in the process -- a phase that includes hearing feedback on the different proposals, and submitting a project resolution to the state attorney general's office.
Later this month or in early March, the council would then move forward with a resolution that provides for planning, construction and other project developments, as well as designating funding for each.
The council would have to order an election on the hotel tax by August in order to have it on the ballot in November.