Stephen Montoya
The Texas heat didn’t dampen the spirits of Thursday’s "topping out" ceremony marking a major milestone of Phase 1 of the Fort Worth Convention Center expansion project.
City officials and other civic leaders gathered to sign the final steel beam that was placed in the vertical framework of the building. The beam was signed by each. It was also adorned with the flags of Fort Worth, Texas, and Old Glory. In a nod to a tradition that is said to bring good fortune, a fir tree was also placed on top of the beam.
As the final structural piece was carefully swung into place where a grand southeast lightbox atrium entrance will be, onlookers applauded.
The $95 million expansion project, which is being done in two phases, is being overseen by AECOM Hunt, Byrne Construction Services, and EJ Smith Construction, which all entered into a contract with the city last December.
Phase 1 is expected to be complete in 2026 and includes the grand southeast lightbox atrium entrance, east-facing terrace, state-of-the-art catering kitchen, additional loading docks, plus the straightening of Commerce Street for a future hotel site.
Phase 2 is estimated to cost over $600 million and is anticipated to be completed by early 2030.
“The cranes that you see here today aren't just for the convention center,” councilmember Elizabeth Beck said at the ceremony. “We have explosive growth throughout this quadrant of downtown and it will connect within the Near Southside, and it's conveniently located right near a transit hub. So, we will be engaging with Trinity Metro as well to make sure that we make it as easy as possible for visitors to get here to our convention and enjoy our great city.”
Projects like this one, Beck said, are important because of the value of tourism revenue.
“My favorite type of money to spend at the city is other people's money because the more tourism dollars that we bring into the city, the less we have to rely on property taxes to make sure we fund all of the great amenities that you have here in the city of Fort Worth,” Beck said.
Since 1968, the Fort Worth Convention Center (formerly the Tarrant County Convention Center) has hosted some of the biggest events and names in entertainment, attracting fans and supporters from various areas. Acts like Ike and Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, and even Pink Floyd all played this venue at one time to large crowds.
The convention center has hosted thousands of major national and international events in the realm of sports, trade shows, and conventions.
The city of Fort Worth, which owns and operates the convention center, expanded the original structure in 2003. Currently, the convention center has almost 400,000 square feet of total meeting space.
“It was really over 10 years ago that the city management knew that a convention center expansion was needed,” Mayor Mattie Parker said. “The leadership with Visit Fort Worth and Bob Jameson and their team started thinking about how we will get to this place today to have a topping out ceremony. How do we convince voters to trust us with their money and HOT [Hotel Occupancy Tax] tax dollars to build out phase two? And it really is about this amazing city that all of us have grown to love and appreciate that is different than other cities in the country.”