Public Affairs Update | Ken Benson
Dallas City Council Approves Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District’s Service Plan. Each year the Dallas City Council is required to hold public hearings on all 14 of the city’s public improvement districts and their proposed service plans (budgets). This year that occurred in August when the TPID and the other PID’s had their service plans renewed by the Council. For the next year, the TPID is projecting to raise approximately $20 million in funds which will be used to lure more meetings and visitors to Dallas who will stay in Dallas hotels. The TPID is the largest PID in Dallas.
Dallas getting ready to choose construction project manager for convention center project. This week, the Dallas City Council is expected to approve Inspire Dallas as the project manager for the convention center build. They are affiliated with Matthews Southwest, a long-time developer in Dallas who has developed numerous projects in Dallas, the most notable of which is the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas.
We may see some World Cup 2026 announcements this month. This is the month FIFA was expected to announcements related to the 2026 North America World Cup according to Dallas Sports Commission president Monica Paul. Those announcements may include the locations for the final and semi-final matches along with the site of the International Media Center. Dallas is the front runner for the Media Center, with AT&T Stadium in the running for semi-final matches as well as the final.
Announcements on Fair Park improvements. Along with the convention center expansion, Proposition A – which passed last November – also included monies for improvements at Dallas’ historic fair park, most notably for the Cotton Bowl (home of the Texas-OU football game), the exhibition halls and the music hall. The schedule is still uncertain, but Fair Park officials are expected to showcase the timing on some improvements sometime this fall.
Lawsuits expected on new Dallas short term rental ordinance. Those opposed to the restrictive ordinance – which will ban STR’s in most single-family areas once it takes effect in December – have been soliciting contributions in support of a lawsuit. The latest city to take on the STR issue is New York City which has begun enforcing a new ordinance requiring all STR’s to register with the city.
In Plano, a citizen task force continues its review of the STR issue while the one-year ban on all new STR’s remains in place in the city.
Look for the Texas Legislature to be back in session this fall. While the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking center stage now in Austin, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is expected to call Legislators back to Austin sometime this fall for at least one special session devoted to the issue of public-school vouchers. As can be the case with special sessions, the Texas Governor has the option to add other items to the agenda if needed. The Texas Hotel and Lodging Association continues to track closely all legislative and state issues in Austin for HANTX.
