This is a landmark year for the city of Dal- las. Beginning with the opening of the high- ly anticipated Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in March, the rest of the year is bringing a series of additions to the Dallas skyline and its many downtown neighborhoods. In total, $14 bil- lion in new developments will redefine what Dallas offers as a convention destination — from bold, civic-minded projects to a new convention hotel headquarters. This is the year that everything comes together to push Dallas, already one of the country’s largest hubs for business and innovation, one step ahead of the competition. As the Southwest’s leading business and financial center, Dallas is one of the country’s
top convention cities, with 70,000 hotel rooms, a warm climate, and a central loca- tion with two major airports offering more domestic nonstop flights than any other U.S. city. Last year, the debut of the 1,001-room Omni Dallas Hotel cemented Dallas’ growing status as a top-tier convention city. Connect- ed via skybridge to the Dallas Convention Center (DCC), the hotel’s 110,000 square feet of on-site meeting space includes 39 meeting rooms and two ballrooms that can accom- modate meetings of up to 2,500 attendees. The DCC is also undergoing renovations of
its own. Designed by HKS Inc. and construct- ed by Lee Lewis in collaboration with the city of Dallas, the center is home to the world’s
largest column-free exhibit hall, with more than one million total square feet of exhibit space. With a convenient spot in the heart of downtown, the DCC also offers 100-plus meeting rooms, a 1,750-seat theater, a 9,800- seat arena, and two ballrooms. This year, the DCC will complete renovations to the D area of the center, adding a new ballroom and mul- timedia conference room. The A lobby and concourse and AB lobby will also receive new flooring and wall treatments, adding plenty of color and visual interest to the DCC.
For more information: Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau — (214) 571-1000 or (800) 232- 5527; visitdallas.com
Cultural gem Dallas strives to celebrate vibrant diversity through its performing, visual, and culinary arts, as well as its rich tapestry of faiths and neighborhoods. Residents and visitors alike appreciate that the nation’s ninth-largest city — which is part of the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country — is also a cultural force to be reckoned with.