Dallas Fair Park renovation headed to voters - Axios DallasLog InLog InAxios Dallas is an Axios company.

Dallas Fair Park renovation headed to voters

The Cotton Bowl hosts much more than the Texas/OU game. Photo: Ron Jenkins for The Washington Post Prominent Dallas politicians and business leaders have partnered to urge voters to approve a proposition that would increase the hotel occupancy tax to fund a new convention center and the renovation of key buildings in Fair Park. Driving the news: Dallas heavyweights — including current Mayor Eric Johnson, former Mayor Tom Leppert and former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, for whom the convention center is named — gathered yesterday to promote Proposition A, which will be on November ballots. Why it matters: Though most of the $1.5 billion measure would go toward building a convention center, $300 million would be earmarked for Fair Park, potentially making it the largest single investment in the landmark's history. Details: The bonds would be paid for by a 2% increase to the , which is applied to stays at hotels and motels and short-term rentals.Fair Park's money will go toward revitalizing the Cotton Bowl, Music Hall, Band Shell, Coliseum, and the Automobile and Centennial buildings. The new convention center would still be named for Hutchison and is being pitched as a connector of Downtown and southern Dallas. By the numbers: Some 5.5 million people visit Fair Park annually, and only 40% go during the State Fair of Texas, which opens Sept. 30. Last winter, 232,000 people visited the during its first year in Dallas. What they're saying: The investment in Fair Park will end decades of a "band-aid and duct tape approach" to maintenance, Fair Park First CEO Brian Luallen tells Axios. "The visitor experience is very poor," he said. The bottom line: The coalition will heavily promote the proposition until Election Day to ensure it gets noticed down-ballot amid a and closely watched midterms. Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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