The pandemic put these high-profile projects on hold. Now Fort Worth is bringing them back

The money Fort Worth gets from hotel taxes isn’t what it used to be.

Hotel occupancy cratered at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lack of tax revenue led the city to pause most culture and tourism spending.

But strong growth in 2021 combined with help from the American Rescue Plan Act have put the city in a position where its ready to restart some of its biggest projects it put on hold when the pandemic hit.

The city plans to invest $189 million on expansions and renovations of the convention center, Omni Hotel and Will Rogers Memorial Center.

An additional $500 million could be spent on the convention center, but that will depend on the continued recovery of hotel taxes, city public events director Mike Crum told the City Council recently.

Hotel tax revenue dropped 38% from around $31 million in 2019 to $19 million in 2020. It rebounded 24% to $23.7 million in 2021.

While still lower than pre-pandemic revenue, the rapid bounce back combined with a 35% increase in the number of room booked has convinced the city and the tourism industry the time is right to restart the projects.

Tourism generates roughly $2.6 billion in annual economic impact, according to data from tourism nonprofit Visit Fort Worth.

Convention center

The city council allocated $52 million in money it received from the American Rescue Plan Act to jump-start the first phase of the convention center expansion in November 2021. That’s roughly a third of the $173.7 million Fort Worth received through the act.

Proponents of the project have pointed to multiple studies that indicate the demand for convention business in Fort Worth. A 2019 report showed the convention center could double the number of yearly events through an expansion.

“We’re burning money because we’re not able to accommodate the demand,” Visit Fort Worth CEO Bob Jameson told the City Council.

While design for the project is still a ways off, a 2019 study recommended the city add or replace roughly 100,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 60,000-square foot ballroom and 48,000 square feet of meeting rooms.

That’s roughly the size of four football fields being added to the convention center.

While the design is still a ways off, Crum said the flying saucer auditorium would likely be removed to make way for expansion.

Phase one of the project is expected to cost $67 million. The gap between the price tag and federal funding would be covered by loans supported by hotel taxes.

That phase will involve the straightening of Commerce Street, which curves around the convention center to provide space for loading docks.

The city tentatively expects to start construction in late spring or early summer 2023 and wrap up at the end of 2025.

The details of phase two, which involves the actual expansion, are more hazy given the costs ballooning $100 million between 2019 and 2022, and hotel tax revenue having not fully recovered.

Crum said he’s confident hotel taxes will rebound, but said they’ve haven’t reached a point where the city could fully fund the construction on hotel taxes alone.

Will Rogers Memorial Center

The city allocated $13.8 million in its 2022 budget for deferred maintenance projects at the Will Rogers Memorial Center including roof repairs and electrical and sound system updates.

The biggest investment is a proposed $40 million project to be paid for jointly with the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo to update the sheep and swine barns.

The specifics of the project are still being worked out, but Stock Show spokesperson Matt Brockman said this is the third phase of a four-phase project to update the barns at Will Rogers to allow them to accommodate different kinds of livestock.

Brockman said this renovation expands the capacity of what the barns can handle and opens up the possibilities of more events being held at Will Rogers.

Omni Fort Worth Hotel Expansion

The city inked an initial $40 million deal to expand Omni Fort Worth Hotel at 1300 Houston St in March 2020, but economic uncertainty pushed the project off until this year.

The project will add 400 rooms to the Omni making it one of two “supertanker hotels” recommended to the city as part of the 2019 study on the convention center expansion.

Supertanker hotels are those with 1,000 or more rooms.

Now, the city proposes investing $53.3 million into the $217 million project, which will be paid for through bonds supported by hotel tax revenue.

The money won’t be paid out though until after the project’s completion and requires Omni to meet certain criteria.

Omni has to spend $202.4 million on the expansion with $127.7 million directly spent on construction itself.

Around $30 million, or 15% of the total construction cost, has to go to minority- or women-owned businesses as part of the city’s effort to promote equity in its contracting work.

The expansion is projected to generate $150 million in tax revenue over 20 years.