Dallas hikes hotel tax for Fair Park, convention center

Dallas voters approved a tax increase on hotel rooms, which will pay for a new convention center and renovations to Fair Park.

Proposition A passed and will raise the tax collected from customers who stay in hotels, motels or short-term rentals, the Dallas Morning News reported. The tax will increase to 15 percent from 13 percent.

The hotel tax increase is expected to bring in $1.5 billion over the next 30 years. Of that, $1.2 billion will go to planning and construction for a replacement to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center downtown.

Up to $300 million will be used to renovate Fair Park’s Cotton Bowl, Coliseum, Automobile Building, Band Shell, Centennial Building and Music Hall.

The city will now issue revenue bonds and hire project managers and firms for the new convention center and the Fair Park renovations.

Under state law, money from the hotel occupancy tax can only be used to repay bonds that will fund the project.

“What we have to do now is make good on the promise that we’ve made to the residents of the City of Dallas,” Mayor Eric Johnson said after the votes came in. “And that promise is that we’ll be good stewards of this revenue stream, and we’ll be smart about how we deploy this revenue stream, and that is what we are going to do.”

The convention center needed between $500 million and $700 million worth of renovations or maintenance, including a new roof, escalators and complete reconstruction of some parts of the building. The city spends about $1 million annually on tarps to cover the leaking roof.

Of Fair Park’s 35 historic buildings, six will be renovated with the additional revenue. The renovations will support venues that are known for hosting the Red River Showdown, State Fair Classic football games and concerts.

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— Victoria Pruitt