An interesting proposal near the Texas Rangers‘ upcoming Globe Life Field is taking shape, as Arlington officials could approve plans for a new hotel and convention center.
When it opens this spring, the retractable-roof Globe Life Field will be added to a busy area that includes Globe Life Park–the former Rangers’ home that is currently being repurposed for other uses–the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, the Texas Live! development, a recently opened Live! by Loews Arlington hotel, and more. Another hotel could be added to that mix, with a $550 million, 888-room hotel named Loews Arlington in the works. Through a public-private partnership, Arlington and Loews Hotels & Co. would complete the project, which also includes plans for a 150,000 square-foot publicly owned convention center. The development would be constructed on a parking lot adjacent to Globe Life Park, with some underground parking below the facility converted into exposition space.
In planning the project, Arlington officials are hoping to expand the city’s hotel room and convention space inventory to capture more opportunities for visitors. The proposal is expected to go up for a city council vote on Tuesday and, should plans move forward, the project could be completed by 2023. More from the Dallas Morning News:
Plans for the convention center include nearly 1,200 rooms and more than 180,000 square feet of meeting space.
The city intends to leverage the public-private partnership with Loews to capitalize on missed business opportunities. Arlington lost out on about $16 million in hotel stays over the one-year period between November 2018 and November 2019, according to the Arlington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
The entirety of the project will be funded in advance by the developer using private equity and debt. Billionaire Jonathan Tisch, owner of the New York Giants football team, is chairman of Loews Hotels.
The hotel and convention center will, however, require $50 million from the city over the next 30 years in the form of performance-based rebates for city and state hotel occupancy, sales and mixed-beverage taxes as well as a one-time $10 million payment for the underground exposition center renovation.
Globe Life Field is expected to open in March. Meanwhile, Globe Life Park–the Rangers’ home from 1994-2019–is currently undergoing a conversion project to accommodate a new professional football club in the XFL and professional soccer’s North Texas SC (USL League One) beginning this spring, with more uses likely in the future.
Renderings courtesy HKS.
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