Dallas, TX – Dallas voters this weekend turned down a challenge to the construction of a new 1,000-room Omni hotel that will serve the Dallas Convention Center.
The results mean the city can proceed with the sale of construction bonds for the hotel, which will be connected to the convention center and is scheduled to open in 2011.
“Our 30-year wait for an attached convention center hotel is finally over,” said Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau President/CEO Phillip Jones.
The ballot measure would have prohibited the city from owning hotels. The organization backing the initiative indicated Saturday night it was not anticipating a legal challenge to the $500 million project.
The Dallas CVB said it had booked 400,000 room nights contingent on the approval of the hotel from groups including the Helicopter Association International, Safari Club International and the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA).
The $500 million project will be developed by Matthews Southwest and operated by Omni Hotels. The four-acre site will also include new restaurants and retail space.
The Dallas Convention Center offers 1,018,942 square feet of prime exhibit space and ranks 10th in size in Trade Show Executive’s directory of the World’s Top Convention Centers.
Reach Phillip Jones at (214) 571-1010 or pjones@dallascvb.com
