On Tuesday, the Dallas City Council voted 14-1 to continue the process of approving bonds to pay for improvements to Fair Park and a new convention center. The city plans to pay back the bonds by increasing city hotel occupancy taxes from 13% to 15%.
Wednesday’s vote sends the issue to the Texas Comptroller, who must approve the funding scheme. Once approved by the comptroller, the city council will again vote in August to place the proposal on the November ballot for Dallas voters to decide whether it moves forward.
Supporters of the proposal say it is a great way to bring new jobs, businesses, and economic development without burdening taxpayers.
Jennifer Scripps, President & CEO of Downtown Dallas, Inc., called the proposal a “once in a generation” opportunity to invest in Fair Park.
“It really leverages the private donations for the neighborhood park that’s already in design and is going to be incredible,” said Scripps. “So those are things that as Dallas residents, raising our families here, trying to attract new workers, really, really will be a boon to our community.”
The convention center is named after Kay Bailey Hutchison, the former NATO ambassador and US Senator. She expressed her support at the city council meeting.
“I think it’ll be great for Dallas,” said Hutchison. “It will not cost our taxpayers. It [the cost] will be borne by the people who are using our facilities, that visit our city… I think that’s a win-win.”
The two projects are expected to cost about $1.5 billion, with about $100 million going towards Fair Park improvements — roughly an 80/20 split.
Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn, who represents the portion of Far North Dallas that touches Denton and Collin counties, was the lone vote against the proposal.
“We don’t know the future of the convention industry,” she said, citing that COVID has changed the convention industries, and the full impact has yet to be determined.
“We don’t know the economic development benefit,” she added. “We have not seen examples where this type of transaction has actually paid off in visitors and economic impact. What we do know is only a tiny portion of the hotel room nights in Dallas are associated with conventions.”
Mendelsohn also questioned if the city of Dallas could take on the project, citing leadership changes, staffing challenges, “and many departments that aren’t currently able to deliver day-to-day service at the level we expect.”
“These presentations haven’t answered the question: Does city management believe this a priority for the city? Do we, as representatives of our districts, really think it is? And do our residents think this is a priority?” she asked.