On May 14, 2008, the Dallas City Council approved plans to build a 1000-room convention center hotel at the southwest corner of Young and Lamar, in downtown Dallas.  This hotel would be an economic boost to the city's tourism and convention business, adding 3,800 jobs to our local economy and allowing Dallas to compete for large conventions that we are now unable to compete for.  Because Dallas is the only city in the top 22 convention cities in the U.S. without a convention center hotel, we have been unable to attract certain large conventions and meetings, sending hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to others cities and leaving our world-class convention center at a competitive disadvantage and making that city asset an underperforming one.  Houston's convention center hotel has proven so successful, they hope to sell it for a $70-million profit and are planning to build a second one!

On May 9, 2009, Dallas Residents will be voting on Proposition 1, which prohibits the City of Dallas from ever buying, leasing or offering any kind of financial incentive to a hotel or lodging facility.  There have been debates and campaigns by those for and against this proposition.  One of the tactics being used by those who do not support the hotel is that the money being spent by the city would be better used for added police and city services.  This is simply a false argument.  Building the hotel will not affect basic city services such as police protection and street repairs. The general budget, which covers the operations of the city including public safety and streets, cannot be spent on capital projects like the hotel.  The funds used to finance structures like the convention center hotel, the American Airlines Center and other public works projects (including the new terminal at Love Field) are financed through the sale of tax-exempt revenue bonds. 

The economic impact of not building the hotel will be devastating.  The Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau has been notified by 80 groups that they will not bring future meetings and conventions to Dallas until a convention center hotel is built.  Also, since the announced construction of the hotel, the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau has booked additional citywide conventions, representing $400+ million in economic impact.  These bookings, however, are contingent on the construction of the convention center hotel, so with no hotel, that impact goes from being a positive impact to a negative one.  

Before you go to your polling place (and remember, early voting runs from April 27, 2009 through Way 5, 2009), remember, the wording of the ballot measure is tricky.  You must vote NO, to SUPPORT the hotel and our city's economy.  Remember, regardless of what you may see advertised by opponents, this measure is NOT a choice between police, streets or city services and construction of a hotel... this is about building a hotel that will CONTRIBUTE TO OUR ECONOMY in a meaningful and measurable way that will improve all those city services for Dallas residents!