Dallas voters approve $1.5B plan for new convention center, Fair Park renovations

DALLAS - Voters in Dallas overwhelmingly said yes to upgrades at Fair Park and in Downtown Dallas.

The ballot initiative called for a 2% increase in the city’s hotel occupancy tax. But it won’t raise taxes for people who live in the city.

About 68% of voters approved it.

It will also raise billions of dollars for a new convention center downtown and fund renovations to historic buildings at Fair Park.

Voters approve some local propositions, but not all

In Denton, voters overwhelmingly chose to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. In Dallas, a plan to rebuild the convention center got the OK. And in Plano, there was some favor for a massive school bond initiative, but not all of it.

This plan was put on the ballot after being approved by the Dallas City Council in February.

They voted in favor of a $2 billion plan to build a new convention center west of Lamar Street. An additional $2.2 billion would be spent on redevelopment projects in and around the convention center.

Dallas seeks to increase hotel tax, raise $1.5 billion for convention center, Fair Park

The Dallas City Council wants to increase the tax on hotel rooms in order to rebuild the Dallas Convention Center and make improvements to Fair Park.

The money to fund the convention center would come from increasing the Dallas hotel occupancy tax by 2%, and a new state designation that allows Dallas to keep all of that tax money.

The city plans to keep 30% of the current convention center. The cost to demolish the rest of it is estimated at roughly $20 million.

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Construction of the new facility is expected to take about six years.