Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth Convention Center & Arena Studies
As a longtime advisor for the City of Fort Worth, Hunden Partners provides important analyses that the City needs for its financing considerations. On these occasions, Hunden has been engaged to focus its expertise on funding issues related to the Fort Worth Convention Center and Arena. By customizing and updating projections of incremental hotel taxes for hotel and event facilities in the City, Hunden provided a vital basis for generating hotel tax revenue.
Situation
Hunden Partners has an ongoing contract with the City of Fort Worth to provide market research, fiscal impact analysis, and related modeling to support the funding of a major arena, convention center expansion, and new headquarters hotel development. The City typically engages Hunden several times per year to update Project Financing Zone (PFZ) projections and work with City staff to package the results into sources-and-uses documentation for the finance department.
Approach
Hunden created a custom model to project various forms of incremental hotel tax generated by new development within the (PFZ), which can be used as a funding source for the City of San Antonio Finance Department’s tourism and event facilities. Hunden continues to update this model as new data becomes available, hotels are proposed or opened, facilities expand, and market conditions shift.
Fort Worth expanded its PFZ boundaries in 2024 to capture additional hotel tax revenue from new development downtown and on Panther Island. Record-high hotel performance in 2023 and 2024 increased projected PFZ revenue streams, prompting repeated updates to Hunden’s modeling as new hotels, including the Crescent Fort Worth and several downtown boutique properties, opened within the zone.
Impact
Phase 2 of the Fort Worth Convention Center expansion is authorized and funded, with construction expected to begin in 2026. The $606-million program will add a new exhibit space, meeting rooms, a 50,000-square-foot ballroom, and major lobby to support larger conventions and enhance the visitor experience. PFZ revenue projections remain a central component of the City’s long-term funding strategy for the expansion.
