What's New

Texas wants to raise the bar in the meetings industry, giving planners and attendees more than they expect. Many of the state's meeting and convention facilities are not only adding new services, but also building large neighboring entertainment, dining, and shopping properties.

One good example is in downtown Houston, where the 12 acres in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center have been laid aside for Discovery Green, a park that will feature an interactive fountain, a one-acre pond, and enough green space to change the ambience of downtown when it opens in early 2008. And by the end of that year, the three city blocks just north of Discovery Green and the GRBCC will emerge as the upscale Houston Pavilions development, where entertainment such as a House of Blues music venue, chic Lucky Strike Lanes bowling, restaurants, and 350,000 square feet of shopping are planned.

The City of Austin's vibrant Second Street district expects the new W Austin Hotel & Residences to come online by 2010. It will be the new home of the world-famous “Austin City Limits” public television music show, in a 2,000-seat live music and event venue. Also planned for the area is the new Austin Children's Museum and about 25,000 square feet of shopping, dining, and extensive outdoor space.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the Grand Hyatt DFW Hotel has arranged a pilot program to make more entertainment and shopping available. Sanctioned by the Transportation Security Administration, qualifying hotel guests may proceed through security screening at Terminal D, which is linked to the hotel, to gain access to the two-million-square-foot terminal's unique architecture, soaring 80-foot ceiling, paintings, restaurants, and retail shops.

Arlington is building the new $650 million Cowboys football stadium, seating 75,000 with expanded seating for 90,000. City plans include development of an entertainment, dining, and shopping area that will neighbor both the new stadium and Ameriquest Stadium, home of the Texas Rangers baseball team.

Irving is planning a multi-use meeting facility in the Las Colinas Urban Center, which is expected to open in late 2009. Plans call for a 50,000-square-foot exhibition hall, a 20,000-square-foot ballroom, and 22,000 square feet of additional meeting space. The facility will be part of Las Colinas Live!, an entertainment complex that will include a 6,000-seat concert hall, an outdoor arena, a 120-room Watermark Hotel and Spa, themed restaurants, and retail-lined streets.

The San Antonio River Walk will soon have a new property. The 1,000-room Hyatt Hotel on the River Walk, adjacent to the downtown convention center, will open in 2008. Away from the River Walk, but with 36 holes of golf, the Westin La Cantera Resort opened its 1.3 million-square-foot, upscale Shops at La Cantera.

Facilities Update

Arlington

• The Hilton Arlington has finished renovating its 252 rooms. The hotel has 11,000 square feet of meeting space and a redesigned restaurant and lounge.

• The Wyndham Arlington at DFW Airport South, surrounded by theme parks, has renovated its 310 rooms.

• La Quinta Conference Center and La Quinta Inn & Suites Hotel, located near The Parks at Arlington Mall, have been renovated and now feature 178 guest rooms and 3,000 square feet of contiguous meeting space.

• Austin

  The W Austin Hotel plans a 2010 opening with 250 guest rooms in the Second Street District.

• The Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa near Bastrop opened in the summer of 2006. The 491-room resort is 13 miles south of Austin Bergstrom International Airport. It has 50,000 square feet of indoor-function space, an 18-hole golf course, a spa, and eight restaurants.

• The 211-room Lakeway Inn Conference Resort of Austin is renovating its grand lobby entrance; upgrading 168 rooms, including 16 spa guest rooms; and redesigning its 5,500-square-foot spa and fitness center. Overlooking Lake Travis will be a new 5,200-square-foot ballroom. The property has 20,000 square feet of meeting space.

• Dallas-Fort Worth Area

  The Hilton Anatole hotel, located on 45 acres just north of downtown Dallas, has 1,606 guest rooms and 341,000 square feet of meeting space. Its five restaurants include the five-star Nana on the 27th floor, overlooking the Dallas skyline.

• The 120-room Mandarin Oriental, Dallas will open in the city's new Victory Park development in 2009. The hotel will have 9,000 square feet of meeting space, six dining and cocktail venues, and a spa.

• The renovated 185-room Hotel Palomar Dallas, formerly the Mockingbird Hilton, has a spa, a restaurant, and 8,555 square feet of meeting space.

• In 2007, the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas will open in Uptown. The 216-room hotel will have 14,000 square feet of meeting space.

• In the West End, the W Dallas Victory Hotel is open with 251 rooms and 11,000 square feet of meeting space.

• The 600-room Omni Fort Worth Hotel broke ground in August 2006, adjacent to the Fort Worth Convention Center. It is expected to open in 2008 with 48,000 square feet of meeting space.

• In Frisco, the 125-room Sheraton Stonebriar will open in November 2007 at a mixed-use development called Stonebriar Commons on Legacy. It will have 12,000 square feet of meeting space.

• The new 120-room Holiday Inn Frisco StarCenter is slated to open in June 2007 with 1,780 square feet of meeting space.

• Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Los Colinas in Irving has added 40 new villas, bringing its total number of guest rooms to 397. The 400-acre resort has 31,675 square feet of multipurpose conference and function space.

• In Irving, the Harvey Hotel DFW Airport has been reflagged as the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport Hotel. The Westin has 38,000 square feet of meeting space, with 31 breakout rooms and a 10,521-square-foot ballroom.

• Grapevine

  Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center opened the 39,000-square-foot Glass Cactus nightclub in August 2006, complete with an entertainment stage and a 1,200-square-foot dance floor. The new building can be used for private parties. The 1,511-room Gaylord Texan offers a 400,000-square-foot convention center, which includes an 180,000-square-foot exhibit hall and three ballrooms.