Texas is a storied state whose spectacularly wide range of cultures each has a marked talent for hospitality; in fact, the word “Texas” comes from the local Caddo tribe for “friends.” And meeting among friends is exactly what events in North and West Texas feel like.
With outstanding cuisine, festive sites for amicable networking and convention bureau staffs eager to organize programs that make the most of their destinations, associations that gather in North and West Texas can count on good times and great company.
Greater Dallas: Mega Meetings
Once the railroads rolled into Dallas in 1873, this city’s boom began. Long known for its business sense—from farming to oil—that expertise has recently been focused on city planning, which has resulted in several new developments. The biggest is the new Continental Avenue Bridge & West Dallas Gateway along the Trinity River Corridor, providing new recreational spaces and participatory programs (anything from line dancing to root-beer-making demos), and the nearby, 15-acre Trinity Groves, an evolving entertainment district with restaurants, stores and a culinary event center called 3015 that can host gatherings of up to 500. Also of note is the district’s Restaurant Concept Incubator, in which new dining spots are being opened in former industrial warehouses. About two miles away is the two-year-old Klyde Warren Park, a 5.2-acre space that connects Uptown, Downtown and the Arts District and which can be rented for all kinds of outdoor group events.
Of course, when it’s time to get down to business, Dallas delivers. Groups who can testify as much include the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Association of College Stores, both of which recently met in town with thousands of members. The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center (formerly the Dallas Convention Center) is the key to city meetings with more than 1 million square feet of event space; features include more than 100 meeting rooms, 724,526 square feet of exhibit space, a 203,000-square-foot, column-free exhibit hall, a 9,800-seat arena and a theater for up to 1,750 people. Planners also regularly book the Dallas Market Center, which has more than 800,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space within its four venues: the World Trade Center, the International Trade Plaza, Market Hall and the Trade Mart. Just down the street, the Renaissance/Dallas has been renovated and now offers more than 50,000 square feet of meeting space on two levels.
The 277-acre Fair Park complex hosts the state fair, attracting 3 million visitors each fall. The rest of the year Fair Park welcomes other events, enticing groups with more than 749,000 square feet of space. Other Dallas venues include the 2,062-seat, I.M. Pei-designed Meyerson Symphony Center, with four additional private suites for meetings; the American Airlines Center, which is home to the NBA’s Mavericks and the NHL’s Stars and can host groups of up to 20,000; and the year-old George W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum, which has space for up to 400 people. Green spaces within the city are also preferred spots for events: At Lee Park, Arlington Hall can accommodate up to 500 people or the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden can be used for functions of up to 4,000.
Mesquite, just east of Dallas, boasts venues such as the Mesquite Convention & Expo Center at Rodeo Center, with an 18,000-square-foot ballroom and a 35,000-square-foot exhibit hall; Mesquite Arena, which has 24,000 square feet of floor space and can be configured to seat up to 7,000; and the Mesquite Arts Center, with a 500-seat concert hall. Forty miles south of town, in Ennis, is the Texas Motorplex, whose Champions Club can accommodate events of up to 450 or catered functions as large as 400.
Farther east, in the sweet-scented town of Tyler—it’s known for the more than 32,000 rose bushes in its municipal garden—the Holiday Inn has undergone an extensive update, and the former Residence Inn is now a Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham property. In October, a new Residence Inn opened with 119 guest suites and three meeting rooms. At the Harvey Convention Center, groups can convene in several spaces, the largest of which is 17,632 square feet. Other sites in town include the 6,960-seat Oil Palace and the historic, 315-seat Liberty Hall.
Addison, to the north of Dallas, welcomes groups of up to 600 at the Addison Conference & Theatre Centre and up to 25,000 attendees at Addison Circle Park. In nearby Richardson, the North Texas Event Center has event space for up to 2,000 people and is adjacent to the North Texas Automotive Museum, which is scheduled to reopen in January with additional space for events. The Richardson Civic Center has 22,050 square feet of space, and the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts has a 1,563-seat performance hall as well as three smaller spaces. Venues with up to 10,000 square feet of space include the Zituna Banquet Hall, Noah’s, Slate and the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts.
In Plano, the 299-room Hilton/Dallas-Plano-Granite Park opened this summer with 30,000 square feet of event space. It’s 10 miles from the 122,500-square-foot Plano Centre, whose spaces include a 21,600-square-foot, column-free exhibition hall and 17 breakout rooms. Other options include the Marriott at Legacy Town Center; the downtown Courtyard Theater, which recently renovated its sound system; and a 129-room Cambria Suites, expected to open at the end of December with 2,500 square feet of meeting space.
In the town of Allen, north of Plano, the 188,000-square-foot Allen Event Center has more than 7,000 seats and regularly hosts sports and entertainment events as well as conventions and trade shows. Meetings also take place at the Courtyard by Marriott/Dallas-Allen at the John Q. Hammons Center, which has 15,000 square feet of event space, and at the Hilton Garden Inn/Dallas-Allen, which has 12,000 square feet of meeting space. Groups that have recently brought events to the area include the Texas Public Purchasing Association and the Texas Association of School Business Officials. Just to the southeast is Parker, home to the 340-acre Southfork Ranch, made famous by the TV show “Dallas”; today, it’s frequently used for group gatherings of up to 2,000, and its Event & Conference Center has more than 63,000 square feet of indoor space, including the 26,500-square-foot Oil Baron’s Ballroom.
In Frisco, northwest of Allen, the Embassy Suites Dallas-Frisco Hotel, Convention Center & Spa woos planners with 90,000 square feet of event space. Construction began recently on the Dallas Cowboys’ new headquarters, to include a 12,000-seat stadium that will be available to Frisco Independent School District teams. Work on the five-acre plot is expected to be complete in time for the 2016 football season. Existing event options in Frisco include the Dr Pepper Arena, which can seat up to 7,000; the Toyota Stadium & Toyota Soccer Center, which can seat up to 20,500 and offer an additional 17 fields, respectively; the 18,000-square-foot Frisco Heritage Museum; or the Frisco Discovery Center, which can host up to 1,000 for private functions.
In Irving, to the southeast of Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport, groups gather at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas, which has 100,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space. Next door, construction recently began on the Irving Music Factory, an 18-acre entertainment center which is expected to include a 100,000-square-foot concert hall, an amphitheater with 8,000 seats and an outdoor event plaza. About 10 miles west, in Bedford, up to 150 people can meet at the Old Bedford School, a restored 1915 brick schoolhouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In Grapevine, the new Courtyard/TownePlace Suites by Marriott has more than 19,000 square feet of event space, and renovations are underway at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center and the Holiday Inn Express. The Grapevine Convention Center has 23,500 square feet of flexible event space, and the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center features some 400,000 square feet of convention space and is currently being updated.
In July, the Gaylord hosted the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, an event which drew more than 2,200 to the area. It was so successful that the group plans to rebook the property for its 2022 annual conference, said Barbra Gustis, its senior director of meetings and business partnerships. “Grapevine is conveniently located and offers easy access to shopping outlets, fantastic restaurants and unique venues—such as Cross Timbers Winery, the Great American West Gallery and the Cowboys Golf Club,” she said. Other visiting groups have included the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, who brought 1,200 attendees (representing 47 states) to its 2014 national conference. “Our attendees really appreciated how easy it was to get to and from Grapevine,” said Dawn Rego, its marketing and conference manager. “Also, I can’t say enough about the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center and the CVB. Our attendees really felt like they rolled out the red carpet for them.”
In Lewisville, the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott has undergone a thorough renovation, as has the Hilton Garden Inn, which has 17,000 square feet of event space. The Homewood Suites by Hilton has refurbished its public spaces and guest rooms, and the former Hampton Inn is now a Baymont Inn & Suites property. In nearby Flower Mound, the 100-acre Circle R Ranch has several special event spaces, and in Denton, 15 miles north, associations can convene at the University of North Texas, whose facilities include the 30,850-seat Apogee Stadium.
A central meeting point for attendees hailing from around the Metroplex is Arlington. The University of Texas/Arlington welcomes groups on campus at its two-year-old College Park Center, which has 7,000 seats, and at the 2,625-seat Texas Hall. Famous sporty spots are AT&T Stadium (formerly Cowboys Stadium), which can host groups as large as 110,000, and the 49,170-seat Global Life Park (formerly known as Rangers Ballpark), which has several spaces including the Batter’s Eye Club, a suite overlooking center field that can entertain up to 120 people, and the 9,000-square-foot Captain Morgan Club.
The major venue in town for meetings, though, is the Arlington Convention Center, which has more than 84,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space and is connected to the city’s largest hotel, the 311-room Sheraton, by a covered walkway. Another popular meeting hotel is the Hilton/Arlington, which underwent a major renovation this year and updated its 308 guest rooms as well as its 11,000 square feet of event space.
Additional choices for group functions include the Studio Movie Grill, the renovated Arlington Music Hall and the International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame, for events of up to 400. Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, open May through mid-September, can also host large functions.
Greater Fort Worth: cultural “cowtown”
As one of the largest cities in one of the largest states, Fort Worth has an impressive array of attractions for visiting groups, but the best known is probably the Stockyards National Historic District. Here, event spaces include the 3,418-seat Cowtown Coliseum and Billy Bob’s Texas, a honky-tonk that can be used for special events of up to 6,000.
The largest dedicated facility for meetings is the Fort Worth Convention Center, which has 253,226 square feet of space. Elsewhere, groups of up to 800 can gather at the restored Ashton Depot, and the Sundance Square Plaza features space for up to 55,000. In the Cultural District, the 85-acre Will Rogers Memorial Center is home to the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Building, the Will Rogers Auditorium and the Will Rogers Coliseum. At the nearby Kimbell Art Museum, the year-old Renzo Piano Pavilion is home to galleries, classroom space, an expanded library, an auditorium and extra parking. Also in the area is the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, which has 69,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. Closer to DFW, the American Airlines Training & Conference Center has accommodations, function space, three restaurants, a pool and a ropes course. Another option is NASCAR’s Texas Motor Speedway, which has several event spaces including a ballroom for up to 600.
In the town of Granbury, 35 miles southwest of Fort Worth, the Granbury Resort Conference Center has 20,000 square feet of space, and the Granbury Opera House can seat up to 220 people.
Also popular with groups is Waco, just down Interstate 35 from Fort Worth, where the Waco Convention Center has 144,000 square feet of event space. Other venues in town include the Dr Pepper Museum, Hoffman Hall, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Art Center of Waco.
Abilene to Amarillo: Always Down to Earth
Once a cattle-shipping stop on the Texas and Pacific Railway, Abilene still has a strong presence on the state’s agriculture scene, but it’s a top spot for meetings, too, thanks to the Abilene Civic Center, where 110,000 square feet of space in 15 rooms awaits planners. Historic sites abound, from the 1,199-seat Paramount Theater to the Expo Center of Taylor County to the living-history museum Frontier Texas, which can host events of up to 1,500 after hours. In Graham, 90 miles to the northeast, the Wildcatter Ranch Resort & Spa offers traditional Western experiences, upscale accommodations and meeting facilities for up to 100.
Farther north, in Wichita Falls, a new La Quinta Inn & Suites opened in May with 80 guest rooms. Recent groups that have held events in town include the Texas Association of Sports Officials and the Justices of the Peace & Constables Association of Texas. Many hold their function at the Wichita Falls Multi-Purpose Events Center, which can host conventions of up to 1,200. Its venues include the J.S. Bridwell Agricultural Center, which has 50,000 square feet of floor space; the 6,500-seat Kay Yeager Coliseum; the 2,700-seat Memorial Auditorium; and the Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall, which has 58,000 square feet of space. Other local event sites include the River Bend Nature Center, which has a 6,700-square-foot pavilion, and The Plex, an entertainment center that can host events of up to 128. A particularly lovely option is the Kemp Center for the Arts, which has a 3,000-square-foot Great Hall and a 1,000-square-foot gallery. A newer venue is the Wellington Banquet & Conference Center, with more than 9,000 square feet of indoor space and another 2,300 square feet outdoors.
To the west is Lubbock, which is introducing a crop of new hotels. The Courtyard/Lubbock Downtown, close to Texas Tech University, opened in August with 103 guest rooms and three meeting rooms, and work has just begun on the Arbor Hotel & Conference Center (a sister property to the town’s Arbor Inn & Suites), which is expected to offer 3,000 square feet of event space and a restaurant. The former Holiday Inn Hotel & Towers is now the MCM Eleganté, and the Holiday Inn Park Plaza is now the Clarion Grand Park. Other properties include the 300,000-square-foot Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, which offers 40,000 square feet of exhibit space and a 1,496-seat theater. On the Texas Tech campus, groups can utilize the 15,000-seat United Spirit Arena; the McKenzie-Merket Center, which can seat up to 600; and Jones AT&T Stadium, which can seat more than 61,000. Next door, the City Bank Auditorium & Coliseum have 2,754 and 6,904 seats, respectively.
To get a real taste of West Texas, visit the American Wind Power Center & Museum, whose impressive “Legacy of the Wind” mural is the backdrop for its event space (for up to 300 guests). The Bayer Museum of Agriculture is home to the Alton Brazell Exhibit Hall, which has 27,000 square feet of exhibit and event space. If it’s musical history that rings a bell for your association, the Buddy Holly Center has space for up to 415 attendees. The historic Coca-Cola bottling plant in the Depot Entertainment District has been converted into McPherson Cellars, a winery with event space for up to 250 guests.
Carry on north and you’ll reach Amarillo, the Panhandle’s biggest city. The Amarillo Civic Center Complex has more than 410,000 square feet of meeting space including the Globe-News Center, which has a 1,300-seat auditorium. East of downtown, the Tri-State Fairgrounds has more than 488,000 square feet of space, including the 5,000-seat Amarillo National Center, which is frequently used for equine events.
West Texas: a history of gatherings
If you’re hoping to see nature on a wide scale, Big Bend National Park, by the Mexican border, is just the place. The park is exceptionally historic, too, with evidence of prehistoric fossils and early nomadic hunters and traders.
El Paso has hosted communities for millennia, too—from ancient farmers to local Native American groups, followed by new arrivals from Europe—making it one of the nation’s most well-established places to get together. Its location on the borders of both New Mexico and Mexico also makes it a strong candidate for regional events. Modern additions to the hospitality scene include the El Paso Chihuahuas’ new baseball stadium, Southwest University Park, which opened recently with 7,500 seats, and the El Paso Museum of History’s TouchCity Digital History Wall, which is scheduled to open in December and will be the first of its type outside of Denmark. A colorful pedestrian pathway through the Downtown Arts District is currently under construction, as is the Hispanic Cultural Center, a children’s museum and several other major projects.
The Judson F. Williams Convention Center features 133,000 square feet of exhibit space and 14,900 square feet of meeting space, and next door, the Abraham Chavez Theatre can seat up to 2,500. Other large options are the Plaza Theatre, a renovated 1930s cinema palace that can seat up to 2,039 people; the McKelligon Canyon Amphitheater & Pavilion, which can accommodate up to 1,503 people; and the El Paso Museum of Art, with special-event space for up to 500 people. The Pan-American Golf Association has been to town, and the International Jugglers’ Association is looking forward to holding a week-long festival in July 2016, according to Mike Sullivan, its future festival site coordinator. Up to 750 performers are expected to attend.
Head east for about 270 miles and you’ll reach Odessa, where the top meeting facilities include the MCM Grandé Hotel & FUNDome, with 20,000 square feet of convention space; the 8,000-seat Ector County Coliseum, which features 145,000 square feet of exhibit space; and, for anglophiles or theater fans, a 410-seat replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. In December, a 90-room Staybridge Suites is expected to open with a theater and a gym, and in February a 93-room Home2 Suites by Hilton is scheduled to open with a boardroom.
Halfway between Dallas and El Paso is Midland, with several sites for group gatherings. The main meeting space is the Midland Center & Centennial Plaza, with 12,500 square feet of exhibit space as well as four meeting rooms for up to 200 people. Other choices include the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, with an auditorium for up to 300, and the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum & Chaparral Gallery, with 60,000 square feet of event space. Adjacent to the museum is the Midland County Horseshoe Arena Complex, which plans to open the new Horseshoe Pavilion in January with 52,000 square feet of convention and trade show space as well as a concert venue that can seat up to 5,619. Also in the works is a new on-site amphitheater that will offer floor and lawn seating for up to 4,500. West of downtown and closer to the international airport are two other sizable venues: the Commemorative Air Force Headquarters Campus, which can host up to 1,200 attendees in its Main Hangar, and the 108,000-square-foot Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center, which has a 1,800-seat main hall and multipurpose space for up to 200.
Midland’s local prowess is key for many of the meetings it attracts, such as the CO2 Conference Week, organized by the Applied Petroleum Technology Academy and scheduled to return again in December. “Midland, as the headquarters city of the Permian Basin region, is the perfect location for a conference related to CO2 (carbon dioxide) injection,” said Steve Melzer, the academy’s former president. “The region is the worldwide leader in CO2 oil recovery and, as such, has the world’s most qualified professionals in handling CO2. The conference attracts more than 500 people from all over the world.”
In hotel news, the last year has seen the opening of several hotels: the Candlewood Suites/Midland SW, a Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham, a Comfort Inn, a Homewood Suites by Hilton and the Holiday Inn Express/Midland South-I-20. Next July, a Four Points by Sheraton is scheduled to open.
Texas Hold ’Em
North and West Texas have been cultural crossroads for centuries, transforming these parts of the state into a melting pot of experts in agricultural, petroleum and, more recently, high-tech industries. Of course, all kinds of associations enjoy the attractions and amenities in this region’s towns and cities. With a reputation to uphold (“Everything’s bigger in Texas”), planners know that their groups are in experienced hands.