Every year the city of Fort Worth brings in five and a half million visitors and contributes over 900 million dollars to the city’s economy. The museums in the cultural district, the zoos, the rodeos, the amusement parks, and the professional sports are a huge draw for travelers. Because of the large number of tourists that visit the city of Fort Worth each year, a new multipurpose arena is purposed for the city. Not only would it be a new state of the art arena to host graduations and rodeos, but it would allow for the city of Fort Worth to commission larger concerts and special events for the area. In doing this, the city would see a rise in tourism which would in turn lead to a boost in the city’s revenue. Each year the city of Fort Worth plays hosts to many tourists. According to Taylor’s (1999) article:
About 80% of visitors came to the city for leisure or personal reasons, and about 20% came primarily for business. Although visitors came from all states and continents, 80% came from Texas, including 45% from North Central Texas (excluding Fort Worth). Two percent were international visitors. (p.8)
This means that out of the numerous amounts of people who are visiting the city, the vast majority are from Texas. They live fairly close by, and are driving into the city for events and attractions. A multipurpose arena would be a largely appealing to these tourists. The shows and concerts the venue would host would be a huge enticement. They would not need to travel to a venue far away for a show, it could be offered right in town. More artists and performers will be more eager to perform in a new arena, and this will mean bigger headliners. The more popular the performer, the more people there will be to fill the seats. Another positive point to the increased tourism in the area is the fact that according to Taylor (1999), a rise in tourism in the city of Fort Worth has led to an increase in hotel stays and hotel construction. So while people are driving into downtown to catch a show or event, they are also planning on staying the night in the area. This will mean they will need to dine out in the area as well. This has the potential to increase revenue for Fort Worth and in turn, aid in the revitalization of many of the buildings in downtown. It will also allow for many new vendors to come into downtown and add variety to the dining scene. When people are on vacation they liked to be entertained. According to Gozalova, Shchikanov, Vernigor, and Bagdasarian (2014) “150 people from different walks of life: businessmen, students, young families with children and the elderly were interviewed. It was found that 90% of respondents prefer active leisure and only 10% (families with children) prefer passive recreation.”(p. 92) This means that sitting out by the hotel pool would not attract these people. They want to go to shows and see events. A multipurpose arena that offered these events would be a big draw to these vacationers. Some people of Fort Worth are a bit skeptical of the purposed arena in spite of all its draws. The building itself would have a $450 million dollar price tag. Residents are strongly opposed to increased taxes that might be needed to cover the costs. One purposed method to fund the building would be an increase in property, sales, and hotel occupancy taxes. Visitors do not want to come to a vacation destination and have more taxes and fees added to their hotel bill. Residents are also concerned it will compete with other area venues. This will effectively turn the draw of the arena, into a drawback These worries are easily put to rest however. A prominent Fort Worth business man has already pledged $225 million dollars of private money to help fund the venue. The remaining cost of the venue would come from taxes not on the residents, but taxes on the facility itself. Vendors who use the building would pay a usage tax, as well as a parking tax. As far as competition to venues, such as the American Airline Arena or Cowboys Stadium, there would be none. At 14,000 seats, the multipurpose arena could not host any NBA or NHL games. So those events would still be held at the stadium where they are currently. The competition between venues simply would not exist. A multipurpose arena in downtown Fort Worth would give residents a fantastic new venue for upcoming events. With rodeos, graduations, concerts, and special events the possibilities are seemingly endless. With this new arena there will come a very beneficial increase in tourism. This increase in tourism will be the boost the city needs to help revitalize downtown and turn it into a great tourist attraction for everyone. Voting yes on the proposition is what the city of Fort Worth needs.
References
Gozalova, M., Shchikanov, A., Vernigor, A., & Bagdasarian, V. (2014). Sports tourism. Polish Journal of Sport and Tourism, 21(2), 92-96. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/pjst-2014-0009
Taylor, L. (1999). New studies look at tourism in fort worth. Dallas Business Journal, 23(7), 8. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/228423623?accountid=458