Take a look around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and you might conclude the locals haven’t heard there’s an economic recession going on. Billions in new infrastructure is rising from these North Texas plains and more is coming.
This region of the Lone Star State is already famous for its leading sports culture, restaurant array, glittering retail emporia and easy access in the middle of the country via Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Groups already find the Metroplex fully equipped for any kind of meet-and-play agenda they want, and they’re often surprised by its exceptional affordability and commitment to business.
Dallas
Anyone who hasn’t seen Dallas in the past three years will think upon arrival that they’ve landed in another city, says Philip Jones, president and CEO of the Dallas CVB.
“We’re in the midst of new developments costing $14 billion that are bringing our downtown core into a new era,” Jones says. “Downtown was dead for years, but today we have corporations like AT&T and Comerica relocating from North Dallas and other cities with thousands of employees. And we are adding a lot of infrastructure.”
Much of the development is stoking Dallas’ already business-ready portfolio, he says, from the multivenue Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, opening in October, to more restaurants and clubs like the edgy PM Nightlife Lounge inside The Joule Hotel, another new Dallas face. Historic is hip, too, at the newly restored Union Station, where 48-foot ceilings in the Grand Hall, arched windows and catering from Wolfgang Puck set a memorable event stage.
The massive, $2 billion Trinity River Corridor Project will add bridges, hiking trails, lakes and forestland near downtown. Victory Park is a mixed-use project multiplying its hotel, residential and entertainment components with properties such as W Dallas–Victory Hotel & Residences.
Dallas has 35,000 hotel rooms, and there are thousands more at all price levels in the region. Among its top-drawer properties are The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas; W Dallas–Victory Hotel & Residences; Hilton Anatole; and Hyatt Regency Dallas.
Hotels that have recently completed renovations include The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek; The Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa; and Renaissance Dallas, which is adding 20,000 square feet of meeting space along with upgrades to guest rooms, meeting space and restaurants in a three-phase project.
Meanwhile, this month the Dallas City Council is expected to approve a new headquarters hotel brand for a 2012 addition to the Dallas Convention Center.
Fort Worth
While Old West heritage may still animate the Fort Worth visitor experience, the city’s high-end cultural and hospitality offerings continue to grow.
In venues like Bass Performance Hall, Amon Carter Museum and the renowned Kimball Art Museum, arts enthusiasts find thrills and satisfaction. A new building for the Museum of Science and History will debut later this year, containing a new center for the Cattle Raisers Museum. Additionally, the renowned Fort Worth Zoo will unveil its Museum of Living Art herpetarium this spring, where interactive features will allow visitors to touch and explore the natural world.
Meanwhile, new hotel product is rounding out the city’s group-ready venues and facilities, led by the 253,300-square-foot Fort Worth Convention Center.
Omni Fort Worth Hotel will be unveiled this month. Located adjacent to the convention center, the property will feature 614 guest rooms, 68,000 square feet of meeting space, two restaurants, two ballrooms and an innovative gratuity policy that empowers planners to compensate F&B teams according to their service delivery.
“Gratuities are earned, not automatic,” says Ed Netzhammer, general manager of the Omni Fort Worth Hotel. “And we believe that this new approach will promote consistently strong service from our F&B associates. We surveyed meeting planners and found that the industry standard flat-rate banquet gratuity wasn’t working for them. In response, we’ve created a program to ensure that their expectations are met. Meeting planners are empowered to grant a gratuity of between 15 and 22 percent or more.”
Other new hotels include Holiday Inn Express Fort Worth Downtown, with 132 guest rooms and an “updated retro” look; Hyatt Place Fort Worth Historic Stockyards, a 102-room hotel with a Western style; and Dallas Fort Worth Marriott and Golf Club at Champions Circle, a reflagged property across from Texas Motor Speedway. Another newly reflagged property, the 430-room Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel downtown, recently wrapped up a $46 million renovation, a transformation of the former Ramada property.
Arlington
Nowhere in the DFW Metroplex is there more excitement and anticipation than in Arlington, where the new $1.3 billion, 2.3 million-square-foot Dallas Cowboys Stadium will open in a few months.
Jay Burress, president and CEO of the Arlington CVB, says the 80,000-seat arena’s debut will unify various Metroplex destinations like never before.
“This is a unique asset that all cities in the Metroplex share,” Burress says. “It enables us to host major sporting, religious and entertainment events we could never have in the past. With all that surrounds it, it really is a destination unto itself and a catalyst for a lot of road improvements and an expansion for our convention center.”
The new stadium plays into Arlington’s nickname, “Fun Central,” which it has earned for various entertainment venues like Six Flags Over Texas and Rangers Ballpark. Another entertaining addition is coming in early 2010: the Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, a cooperative project of the U.S. Bowling Congress Association and the Bowling Proprietors Association of America, which have moved both their bases to Arlington.
New hotel product that will add about 1,000 new guest rooms by mid-2010 is also on the horizon, according to Burress. Among the properties opening in 2009 are Hilton Garden Inn; Hyatt Place Hotel; Hampton Inn; Residence Inn South Arlington; Homewood Suites South Arlington; and Comfort Inn.
Irving
Business is king in this Metroplex core city, and a lot of the commerce is centered in the Las Colinas area. That’s where the city has broken ground on a new convention center and entertainment complex with nearly 100,000 square feet of exhibit, conference and event space. Phase one is slated to be finished in 2010. Plans for phase two include several live performance venues, restaurants, retail stores, a cinema and a hotel.
Cutting-edge lifestyle hotels are popping up in Irving as well. Starwood’s aloft Las Colinas recently opened with 136 guest rooms, and in May, NYLO Hotels plans to unveil a Las Colinas property with 200 loft-style rooms and 6,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 3,000-square-foot ballroom with a dramatic urban loft ambience. Additionally, Westin’s Element Irving will open in February with 123 guest rooms designed for extended stay.
Enhancements are also under way at properties like the 397-room Four Seasons Resort and Club Las Colinas, which is undergoing a $150 million expansion that includes the addition of 34 villa suites and a second pool, a renovated lobby and guest rooms, and a redesigned Tournament Players Course, home of the PGA Tour’s EDS Byron Nelson Championship annual spring classic.
Irving’s business-friendly culture is just right for meetings of any size, says Maura Gast, executive director of the Irving CVB.
“Meeting planners facing budget challenges in these economic times find Irving’s location and amenities a huge asset,” Gast says. “Our location is a three- to four-hour direct flight from most major U.S. cities, and our 75-plus hotels offer a price point for everyone. We also give groups easy access to an array of off-site options and attractions throughout the Metroplex.”
Grapevine
This central Metroplex community packs a lot of group magnets in its boundaries, including the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, which soon will be the largest hotel in the state. The resort recently announced a $315 million expansion to its 1,511 guest rooms and 400,000 square feet of meeting and convention space. When the 12-story hotel tower expansion is finished in 2010, it will bring the resort’s space inventory to 2,000 guest rooms and 600,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Great Wolf Lodge is another property making a splash in the destination. The 52-acre resort opened at the end of 2007 and has since expanded with additional suites and meeting facilities. The property features 605 suites, 27,000 square feet of meeting space and various entertainment amenities, including an 80,000-square-foot indoor waterpark.
Grapevine is showing its patriotism with its new 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial. Named Valor Commitment Dedication after the three characteristics exhibited by the flight crews who lost their lives on 9/11, the memorial was dedicated July 4, 2008. The $1 million monument and plaza is 18 feet tall by 15 feet wide.
Plano
Plano’s business-ready stock has risen with the addition of two new contemporary lifestyle hotels. The first NYLO Hotel in the U.S. opened in Plano in late 2007, and aloft Plano debuted in November in this 24/7 live, work and play zone.
“Aloft Plano is the perfect complement to the Plano community,” says Mike Walzl, the hotel’s general manager. “Plano is not only home to many Fortune 500 companies, it is also the central hub for stylish living. Our hotel appeals to young, style-conscious consumers who expect style wherever they go. It’s an interactive, high-tech and smoke-free environment we believe will be the place to see and be seen in Plano.”
NYLO Hotel in Plano welcomes guests into a lobby accented with glass chandeliers made to look like antlers, a pod chair hanging from the ceiling and an electronic kiosk for check-in. Think urban cowboys. Around the corner, the game room/library has a polished stainless-steel bar reminiscent of an airplane wing, pink cowhide area rugs, ultra suede upholstered banquettes and space for a disc jockey. The 176-room hotel has an urban loft design, complete with brick walls, exposed ductwork, 10-foot ceilings and polished concrete floors. Dedicated meeting space, a business center and shuttle service to local business centers are among the amenities.
Frisco
Business groups now have more accommodations than ever in this rapidly growing community on the Metroplex’s north side. Frisco has a total of 1,500 guest rooms, including three new properties: the 102-room Hilton Garden Inn; the 136-room aloft Frisco; and the 190-suite Comfort Suites at Frisco Square.
Frisco’s leading business hotel is the 330-suite Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center, with 90,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 42,000-square-foot ballroom.
Frisco is one of the region’s best destinations for unique venue variety.
The Verizon Wireless Club overlooks Pizza Hut Park and offers a 6,500-square-foot carpeted dining room with a view that is ideal for private receptions and gala dinners. A row of 29 flat-screen TVs is among the club’s features.
Dr. Pepper StarCenter sits adjacent to the Frisco Conference Center, and it’s getting a $40 million facelift that will transform it into a versatile events and activities center by mid-2009. Included are arena seating for 6,000, a private club area, 12 executive suites and a full-service kitchen. Planners looking for something different in team-building ideas can look to the center’s Broomball capabilities—a sport that’s similar to hockey without skates.
Mesquite
Groups in search of Texas-style business sites in the Metroplex inevitably find the Mesquite Championship Rodeo, only a 15-minute drive from downtown Dallas.
Mesquite has been tagged the “Rodeo Capital of Texas” by the state legislature, and it’s been providing rodeo excitement for 50 years. Groups may dine on barbecue before the show and do a “behind-the-chutes” tour of the 5,500-seat arena to get an interesting perspective on the rodeo world. Private suites on the third level of the arena have fully equipped bar areas and catering services.
The Mesquite Championship Rodeo anchors Rodeo Row, part of The Rows of Texas, a four-mile span along Interstate 635 that features a wealth of options for shopping, dining and entertainment. The other two components are Restaurant Row, boasting more than 100 eating establishments, and Retail Row, home to hundreds of shopping venues—from boutique shops to high-end department stores.
Another top attraction in the destination is the Mesquite Arts Center, staging concerts, theater productions and art exhibits.
The destination’s main group facility is the Mesquite Convention Center and Exhibit Hall, located adjacent to the rodeo arena. The facility has 21,000 square feet of ballroom and breakout space, plus 35,000 square feet of exhibit space. Next door is the 160-room Hampton Inn and Suites.
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 CVB 972.698.9307 www.realtexasflavor.com
Plano CVB 972.422.0296 www.planocvb.com
