Dallas
- The 1,001-room Omni Dallas Hotel (214.744.6664; www.omnihotels.com) celebrated its grand opening in November, two months ahead of schedule. With convenient skybridge access into the Dallas Convention Center, the long-awaited headquarters hotel boasts 110,000 square feet of function space, including 39 meeting rooms. Designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, the amenity-rich property includes a spa, five restaurants, a rooftop terrace pool deck and a 78-screen sports bar.
- Spanning its namesake freeway in downtown Dallas, the new Woodall Rodgers Park (214.716.4500; www.theparkdallas.org) is on schedule for a fall 2012 opening. The 5.2 acre green space is intended to bring new pedestrian, trolley and bicycle connectivity throughout uptown, downtown and the Dallas Arts District, where it will serve as the “front lawn” for surrounding cultural venues including the Dallas Center for Performing Arts, the Dallas Museum of Art and the future Museum of Nature and Science.
Frisco
- Being relocated from Dallas to Frisco, the Museum of the American Railroad (972.292.5658; www.museumoftheamericanrailroad.org) is anticipating a soft opening this spring with an exhibition of vintage rolling stock in Fair Park. The museum’s permanent facility, which includes moving two historic structures from Dallas, is expected to be ready in two years.
- The 122-suite Home2 Suites by Hilton (877.646.6302; www.home2suites.com) is slated to open this summer within walking distance of Dr Pepper Arena, Dr Pepper Ballpark and the Frisco Convention Center.
Irving
- By late 2012, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s (214.979.1111; www.dart.org) Orange Line will connect downtown Dallas to the Irving Convention Center. By 2013, that same line will continue from the center to DFW International Airport, making mass transit available out of the airport for the first time.
Mesquite
- With over 54,000 square feet of space, the 160-room Hampton Inn & Suites Dallas/Mesquite (888.370.0981; www.hamptoninn.com ) is expanding its Internet capabilities to over 100 megabits of incoming bandwidth. Coupled with recent facility renovations, the improvement is designed to attract high-tech convention business.
Plano
- The Plano CVB (972.422.0296; www.planocvb.com) recently launched a mobile website. Users accessing the CVB’s website through a smart phone will automatically be redirected to the mobile version, which allows quick access to lodging, event, restaurant and attraction info, in addition to directions via GPS tracking.