Nov. 8 Election to Decide Future of Fair Park, Convention Center, And a Whole Lot More

Early voting continues through Friday in the midterm elections that will decide the future of Fair Park and Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, along with the Texas gubernatorial race and a slew of state and county offices. 

As the insider’s source for Dallas-Fort Worth real estate news, we’ve got you covered. Stay tuned to CandysDirt.com and our Twitter account for the latest results on Election Day, Nov. 8. 

David Lehde, director of government affairs for the Dallas Builders Association, said he’ll be keeping a close eye on the results. 

“Much of our focus will be monitoring Texas House and Senate races in our area, as well as statewide and congressional races,” Lehde said. “There are also some county races in the region. With the regulatory environment in Washington and inflation, we have ideas that help and want to work with our elected officials to keep Texas and D-FW at the top of the housing market.” 

Housing experts will break down election results and what they mean for builders at the Dallas Builders Association State of the Industry event on Nov. 10 at Vouv Dallas. 

Proposition A 

The ballot is full of decisions for Texas voters, but one that’s gotten a lot of attention locally is Proposition A. 

The measure would raise hotel occupancy taxes from 13 to 15 percent, creating a $1.5 billion pot of money to fund renovations and new construction at Fair Park and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas. 

Jennifer Scripps, president and CEO of Downtown Dallas Inc., said Prop A — also referred to as the Brimer Bill — is the most pressing issue facing downtown Dallas. 

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said. “I think we can all agree right now that our convention center might not be the face that we want to put out to visitors who come from around the world to visit our city.” 

Pending passage of Prop A, the convention center will be connected south to The Cedars entertainment district, Scripps said. 

“It also opens up 29 acres of new development opportunity in downtown,” she said. 

About $300 million is slated for Fair Park, including upgrades to the Cotton Bowl, band shell, Automotive Building, Centennial Building, and coliseum. 

While there hasn’t been significant organized opposition to Prop A, some residents have expressed concern about its benefit to Dallas residents.

“As for Prop A, I am voting against the new convention center,” one user wrote on the Reform Dallas Facebook page. “We still owe $211 million on the existing one that taxpayers will remain on the hook for. Not enough money will go to Fair Park and it is entirely optional the way the prop is worded. In addition, I think big conventions are a thing of the past.”

Dallas City Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn voted against putting Prop A on the Nov. 8 ballot, citing a flawed plan that retains the oldest parts of the building, $200 million in existing debt, and an uncertain future for conventions.