It’s hard to imagine a destination often referred to as “Big D” sneaking up and surprising the national consciousness. Yet that is exactly the case with the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, which, with a current population estimated at approximately 6 million, suddenly ranks as the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the country and second only to Los Angeles in the southern half of the nation.
Anchored by its namesakes Dallas and Fort Worth, the ninth-largest and 19th-largest cities in the nation, respectively, the DFW Metroplex also features several other cities with populations that eclipse 100,000, including Irving, Arlington, Plano, and Mesquite, as well as the smaller but rapidly developing cities of Frisco and Grapevine.
Each city in the Metroplex offers its own unique character, attractions and facilities, and they combine to deliver a mix of urban sophistication, Western tradition, small-town charm, and busy corporate centers.
Yet despite its booming development projects, lauded cultural institutions and myriad dining and entertainment options, the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce reports that the cost of living in the Metroplex is 9 percent less than the average for U.S. metro areas, and the cost of doing business in the Metroplex is 6 percent less.
The region’s accessibility is another one of its strong suits. Situated in both the center of the continent and the center of the DFW Metroplex, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, considered the world’s third-busiest airport in terms of operations, services nearly 2,000 flights a day through five modern terminals and is the hub for American Airlines.
And at Dallas’ Love Field airport, the original hub of Southwest Airlines, the recent repeal of the Wright Amendment, which had placed heavy restrictions on flights in and out of Love Field, means flying directly into Dallas is becoming easier as well.
Dallas
Like New York City to the east, Los Angeles to the west and Chicago to the north, Dallas is becoming the cultural melting pot and urban hub for the southern section of middle America.
“Dallas is a city that is undergoing a significant transformation, and one of the things that we are really proud of is that Dallas is becoming a very diverse city,” says Phillip Jones, president and CEO of the Dallas CVB. “Forty percent of our population is now Latino, 20 percent is African-American, and we have the sixth-largest gay and lesbian population in the country. As a result, we have these very different cultural influences permeating the fabric and the soul of the city.”
According to Jones, the city boasts $11 billion worth of development either recently completed or under construction. Many of the projects are focused on reviving Dallas’ downtown core.
“People moved away from downtown Dallas to the suburbs, and for 20 years everybody only went downtown to work in the office buildings of the city’s famous skyline,” he says. “Now, as with many other cities in the U.S., we have people moving back into the urban core and living in lofts and condos in what were previously bank buildings or office buildings.”
Accompanying the more than 30,000 residents who now live within a one-mile radius of downtown Dallas are local businesses, trendy restaurants, active nightclubs, and high-end shopping, all featuring the same flare as the neon skyline within which they reside.
There are public works projects, such as the Trinity River Corridor Project, which will create several recreational lakes, trails and parks anchored by bridges designed by world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava along the edge of downtown, and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail system, one of the fastest-growing light rail systems in the country, which has helped reconnect downtown with the rest of the city and many outlying areas.
Public-private projects are also in the works, like the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, a five-venue, $275 million addition to the already significant downtown Dallas Arts District.
One of the first downtown redevelopment projects to emerge was the Dallas Convention Center. The facility, which features its own DART stop, completed a major renovation and expansion in 2002 and now features 767,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, a 9,800-seat arena, two ballrooms, more than 100 meeting rooms, and the world’s largest elevated heliport.
Meanwhile, several new hotel developments are popping up in and around downtown Dallas, including the recently opened Hotel Indigo Dallas–Aristocrat and the swank W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences, as well as the soon-to-open Ritz-Carlton, Dallas and the independent luxury boutique hotel Joule on Main Street.
The area immediately surrounding the city’s downtown core has plenty more to offer visitors.
“We have 13 entertainment zones within a mile of downtown Dallas,” Jones notes. “These include districts such as the West End, a long-standing popular area; the $3 billion Victory Park development; Uptown, which has about 80 restaurants and 40 art galleries and antique shops along a one-mile stretch between the Arts District and West Village; or Deep Ellum, which is seeing a lot of development and is the longtime blues and funky music and restaurant scene of Dallas.”
Meanwhile, many of the city’s other districts continue to thrive. Neighborhoods such as Upper Greenville, Lower Greenville, Lakewood, and Park Cities, where Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group chose to enter the Dallas market with last September’s opening of the Hotel Palomar Dallas, each feature their own local character and selection of attractions, dining venues and entertainment options.
The city is now doing its best to introduce the new and improved product to meeting planners.
“Last year we hosted MPI’s World Education Conference, we are hosting the ASAE Annual Meeting and Exposition [in 2012], and we are talking to PCMA about hosting their annual meeting in 2010 or 2011,” Jones says. “For MPI, we conducted pre- and post-[convention] surveys, asking MPI delegates, ‘Are you considering hosting a future meeting in Dallas?’ Prior to the conference about 40 percent said they were, and after the conference it was closer to 60 percent. So clearly we were able to change the perception that some people had of Dallas in a positive way.”
Fort Worth
While Dallas competes with America’s other major cities in modern urban appeal, the rapidly growing city of Fort Worth is focused on maintaining its Texas heritage.
“Fort Worth has a unique Texas atmosphere that is special to our state,” says Doug Harman, who retired as president and CEO of the Fort Worth CVB in December. “A lot of the larger cities in Texas, I’d say perhaps excluding San Antonio, have lost some of the traditional Texas atmosphere as they have grown big and modernized. Fort Worth has been able to retain that in a special way, while at the same time experiencing major growth and maintaining some outstanding cultural features.”
Among the cultural features Harman is referring to is Fort Worth’s cultural district, which features five significant museums—the Amon Carter Museum, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, the National Cowgirl Museum, the Kimball Art Museum, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth—that would make many larger cities envious.
Downtown Fort Worth has its own collection of cultural attractions, including the renowned Western art collection of the Sid Richardson Museum and the outstanding acoustics of Bass Performance Hall, home of the annual Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, named after the hometown hero and piano virtuoso Van Cliburn.
At the heart of downtown Fort Worth is Sundance Square, an historic area named after the Sundance Kid, with shopping, dining and entertainment establishments and a large collection of well-preserved historic buildings, many of which date to the Sundance Kid’s heyday at the turn of the 20th century.
“Downtown Fort Worth has been a huge strength for the city since the late 1980s because of [the revitalization of] Sundance Square, and through the years it has just gotten better and better,” Harman says. “You can easily walk from one end of downtown to the other, and it’s a safe, attractive and entertaining experience.”
Anchoring one end of downtown is the Fort Worth Convention Center, which as recently as 2003 was thoroughly modernized and expanded to offer a 182,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 13,500-seat arena, a 28,000-square-foot ballroom, and 41 breakout rooms.
The Omni Fort Worth Hotel is currently under construction adjacent to the convention center and will serve as the center’s headquarters hotel when it opens with 600 guest rooms in 2008.
Also adjacent to the convention center is the Hilton Fort Worth, a former Radisson that reopened under the Hilton flag in 2006 following a $10.5 million renovation. The property, which dates to the 1920s, hosted President John F. Kennedy and the First Lady on their last night together before they headed to Dallas on that tragic day, Nov. 22, 1963.
Fort Worth’s other major visitor draw is the Fort Worth Stockyards. Designated a National Historic District, the Stockyards is where modern city slickers can experience a taste of the Old West, and with more than 25 shops selling everything from clothing and jewelry to art and antiques, they can take a piece of the Old West home with them. While roaming the Stockyards, visitors can check out a live rodeo, visit the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame or go boot-scootin’ at one of several nightspots, including Billy Bob’s Texas, the “World’s Largest Honky Tonk.”
Roughly 20 miles north of Fort Worth, groups can check out the Texas Motor Speedway. According to Harman, the Speedway is the second-largest sports facility in the U.S. and hosts top Indy Car and NASCAR racing events. When not hosting a professional race, the track offers racing schools that are open to the public.
Across the street from the Texas Motor Speedway, the Doral Tesoro Hotel and Golf Club offers luxury accommodations, plenty of meeting space and a championship golf course.
The American Airlines Training and Conference Center, another conference property on the outskirts of Fort Worth, is also popular with groups.
Grapevine
As the home of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, most Metroplex visitors will make their way through Grapevine. In fact, many meeting attendees will not even make it out of the airport. That is because the airport is home to the Hyatt Regency DFW hotel and the Grand Hyatt DFW, both of which offer ample meeting space. But there is more to Grapevine than the airport.
“Grapevine has an historic downtown that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and full of nice, restored buildings with restaurants, wine bars, and live music and entertainment,” says Paul Corliss, media relations manager for the Grapevine CVB. “In one of the largest metro areas in the country, it’s like stepping back in time.”
Beyond downtown Grapevine, the city is home to a small but well-regarded wine industry. Grapevine also boasts the massive Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center. Opened in 2004, the 1,500-room property is a destination in itself, with more than 400,000 square feet of meeting space, a large spa, numerous restaurants and nighttime entertainment options, and activities for all age groups.
Arlington
Known throughout the Metroplex as “Fun Central,” Arlington has, ironically, worked hard to secure its reputation as the place where area residents go to blow off some steam.
Situated midway between Dallas and Fort Worth, Arlington is home to Six Flags Over Texas, the first and still the largest of the Six Flags theme park chain. In addition to being an exciting family and tourism destination, Six Flags offers a range of off-site venues and different kinds of entertainment experiences for convention attendees.
“Being known as ‘Fun Central, Arlington, Texas,’ that brand is a promise that we deliver to nearly 7 million visitors a year,” says Linda DiMario, president and CEO of the Arlington CVB. “They are the ones that told us who we are and what we do best.”
From Six Flags, the good times keep rolling over to nearby Ameriquest Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers.
“Ameriquest Field is more than just a ball field, it is also an entertainment opportunity, with the Legends of the Game Baseball Museum and several rooms, some overlooking the ball field, for special events,” DiMario adds.
Though Arlington certainly knows how to have fun, the city understands the importance of getting down to business. To that end, it features the Arlington Convention Center, which has 93,000 square feet of meeting and function space next to both the amusement park and baseball stadium. According to DiMario, the convention center’s headquarters hotel, the Wyndham Arlington, is scheduled to undertake a property-wide renovation later in the year.
And further cementing its future reputation as Fun Central, Arlington will soon serve as the home of “America’s Team,” football’s Dallas Cowboys, when the team’s new stadium is completed in 2009.
Irving
In contrast to Arlington, where playtime is business as usual, the business of Irving is simply business.
Also situated between Dallas and Fort Worth and just north of Arlington, Irving has matured into one of the nation’s most successful corporate centers. Home to the world headquarters of Exxon/Mobil and three other Fortune 500 companies, as well as the regional headquarters of many more well-known corporations, Irving is well accustomed to hosting small to midsize meetings.
“We are the little guy for meetings, and we try harder,” says Maura Gast, executive director for the Irving CVB. “We are accustomed to taking care of groups of 15 to 350 people, and we are used to working on quick turnarounds, because that is the pace of corporate travel. So it is not unusual for our folks to coordinate meetings that will take place within a week.”
Hotel properties such as the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas, the Marriott Las Colinas and the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas are adept at hosting corporate travelers and corporate meetings, and, according to Gast, can offer value opportunities for groups on weekends and during the summer, when corporate meeting travel schedules tend to sag.
Corporate America’s favorite activity, golf, is also well represented in Irving, with several outstanding courses, including the TPC at Las Colinas, home of the PGA’s annual Byron Nelson Championship.
Plano
Whether they know it or not, anyone who watched the prime-time soap opera Dallas in the 1980s has seen the city of Plano. Today, Southfork Ranch, the fictional home of the Ewing clan, is Plano’s top visitor attraction and an ever-popular site for corporate conferences and events.
Though Southfork Ranch remains, the rest of Plano has changed dramatically since the days when people openly wondered, “Who shot J.R.?” Legacy, a huge office, retail and residential community, is now in its second stage of development. Already home to a selection of Marriott properties, Legacy is also the first site for the new NYLO Hotels brand, which strives to offer an alternative to traditional hotels with its loft-style accommodations. The first NYLO Hotel recently broke ground and is scheduled to open in the Legacy development by early 2008.
While Legacy continues to grow from scratch, Plano’s historic downtown is experiencing a resurgence.
“Downtown Plano is the northernmost stop on the DART line,” says Mark Thompson, director of the Plano CVB. “That has been a catalyst for our downtown, with apartments and restaurants and leisure options, all with that historic downtown look.”
Not far from downtown Plano, the Plano Centre is the city’s main group venue, with more than 86,000 square feet of function space.
Frisco
No more than 15 years ago, what is now the bustling city of Frisco was little more than an expanse of open land. Today, Frisco is an exploding residential and business community with nearly 5 million square feet of retail space, 10 full-service spas and the stadium homes of Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas squad and Minor League Baseball’s Frisco RoughRiders.
FC Dallas plays at Pizza Hut Park, a modern 21,000-seat stadium with numerous options for private receptions and special events, including a performance stage that has hosted big-time acts such as Kenny Chesney and George Strait. The RoughRiders play at Dr. Pepper Ballpark, which also offers private suites and party pavilions for groups, as well as a popular swimming pool just beyond the outfield fence.
The city’s hotel package is growing quickly as well. New properties like the Westin Stonebriar Resort and John Q. Hammons’ Embassy Suites Dallas–Frisco, which along with the attached Frisco Conference Center offers 90,000 square feet of meeting space, are already doing robust business.
And according to Marla Roe, executive director of the Frisco CVB, a number of new hotels, including Sheraton and Le Meridien properties, are scheduled to open within the next two years.
Mesquite
Though it borders Dallas, Mesquite is a world away from the fast pace of the big city. Rather, Mesquite maintains much of its strong Texas heritage, best exemplified by the Mesquite Championship Rodeo, which has been operating since 1958 and is proud to share that heritage with visitors.
“The Mesquite Convention Center and the connected Hampton Inn and Suites, which has undergone a complete guest room renovation in the last year, are all part of an area called Rodeo Center, which also includes the Mesquite Championship Rodeo,” says Judy Skowron, director of the Mesquite CVB. “The Mesquite Championship Rodeo season is from April through December, every Friday and Saturday night, or they will often put together private rodeos as something for attendees to enjoy.”
And while she cherishes Mesquite’s friendly, small-town way of life, Skowron understands the advantage of having a big-city neighbor like Dallas.
“You can stay with us, have your meeting here—where you are going to get excellent rates and you don’t have to pay for little things like parking—and it’s very safe, but then you can take advantage of the nightlife and all of the things that Dallas has to offer just down the road,” she says.
For More Info
Arlington CVB 817.265.7721
www.arlington.org
Dallas CVB 214.571.1000
www.visitdallas.com
Fort Worth CVB 817.336.8791
www.fortworth.com
Frisco CVB 972.963.9225
www.visitfrisco.com
Grapevine CVB 817.410.3185
www.grapevinetexasusa.com
Irving CVB 972.252.7476
www.irvingtexas.com
Mesquite COC 972.285.0211
www.mesquitechamber.com
Plano CVB 972.422.0296
www.planocvb.com
