BY BEN THOMPSON
A closer look
convention business because it’s big dollars.” The current building’s limitations forced the rejection of nearly half of all new event proposals in recent years, and former anchor events like Dell Technologies’ annual conference left town due to the facility’s limitations. Most of that lost business was directly caused by the facility’s capacity and bookings. Austin flirts with almost none of the top 250 conventions that rotate through the country given its center’s size, Alysia Roden, Visit Austin vice president of sales, said last year. The downtown project comes as competitor cities like Seattle, Denver and New Orleans are advancing or have completed expansions of their own. Other Texas cities including Houston and San Antonio are looking to upgrade their facilities as well.
Austin’s presence in the exhibition space lags behind comparable and smaller cities, especially given the rising demand to host events locally and nationally following the pandemic. Austin is already managing bookings at the center for 2029 and beyond. Local leaders have pointed to the disconnect of the U.S.’s 11th-largest city, a growing economic hub and travel destination, housing a convention center with less than 250,000 square feet of exhibit space— the 61st-most in the country. With the upgrade, Austin would leapfrog competitors and rank in the mid-30s. “Austin needed to expand just to remain rela- tive and competitive, even in the Texas market,” Noonan said. “The competition is fierce for
The current Austin Convention Center was built in 1992.
COURTESY AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER DEPARTMENT
Taking up space The expansion brings rentable space in the Austin Convention Center to 620,000 square feet which includes exhibit space, flex space, outdoor space, ballrooms and meeting rooms.
Current rentable square footage Future rentable square footage
+70%
620,000 sq. ft. 365,000 sq. ft.
SOURCE: AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER DEPARTMENT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Who it affects
Local impacts
One more thing
High-rise construction on Rainey Street, the yearslong I-35 expansion, the Waterloo Greenway project and other initiatives alongside the con- vention center will leave the corner of downtown looking like what Watson called a “war zone.” Project team members acknowledge the work is likely to affect nearby residents, businesses and downtown visitors—especially during the initial 1.5 years of demolition and excavation—primarily along Trinity, Red River and Cesar Chavez streets. Hackett said the city is actively engaging with anyone “living, commuting or working” within 1 mile of the center to offer real-time street closure updates, information available through text, news- letters, social media and community surveys.
Over 27M cubic feet of dirt to remove
Noonan said downtown’s hotel room count more than doubled in the past decade from about 6,800 to more than 15,000 , and several more hotels are now in the works. Major events will look different in Austin until 2029, as it's highly unusual to close a city's center for four years. After years of growth, the local tourism sector is now strategizing to maintain activity during the project. Hoteliers have a new plan to market Austin year-round and incentivize events to continue to come to town.
500 trucks traveling from the site daily
Nightly construction extended by 2-3.5 hours
Adjusted vehicle alarms and sound barriers to reduce noise
Alternate vehicle routes and city coordination on traffic mitigation
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN, JE DUNN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT CITY OF AUSTIN
Keep Austin Hired! Palmer Events Center 900 Barton Springs Rd
April 2, 2025 | 10 AM - 3 PM CAREER EXPO
Complete list of employers at AustinTexas.gov/CareerExpo
Free and Open to the Public
33
SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
Powered by FlippingBook