The city of Dallas could take out a $1 billion loan to help fund the construction of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center as it prepares to host the 2026 FIFA men’s soccer World Cup — a proposal that raised concerns for some city council members during a briefing Wednesday.
The project, which would expand the convention center and re-envision downtown Dallas, is expected to cost between $3.3 billion and $3.5 billion — a stark increase from the estimated $1.9 billion in 2021.
The “bridge loan” would help move the project forward by providing funds needed to enter contracts for design and construction and pay vendors.
“I'm sure everyone around here knew that was coming at some point — that you would need that type of financial piece in place to make this work,” Council member Kathy Stewart said. “I think it was the one billion part that caught our attention, and one billion is a third of what you're projecting this to be. I mean, one billion, it’s just a big number.”
Council member Cara Mendolsohn said the plan lacked important details in its revenue forecast.
“This is a good project. I'm not opposed to a convention center project, but we weren't ready to go as far as we did with so little information,” Mendelsohn said.
While there have been cost projections for the project, those numbers were never meant to predict the final cost, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert told council members.
“We've taken the opportunity to go back through all of the presentations, we've listened to all of the meetings to make sure that not at any point in time did we ever give a total project cap,” Tolbert said. “We talked about it as it relates to what we knew that we would be able to bond.”
Along with the convention center, the city and project planners are expecting to create more jobs, increase Dallas tourism and bridge the historic economic divide between northern and southern Dallas.
The facility will serve as the global broadcast operations center for next year's FIFA World Cup. Coverage of the tournament will begin in January 2026, so project planners want construction to begin in July.
The city’s bond was approved by voters last year, and includes the initial funding for the convention center. But that money won’t be available for another year.
“As this project was envisioned several years ago, it was known that it was a very sizable project,” Dallas Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland told the council. “To fund this type of project we have always known that it would require the issuance of debt to pay for this type of facility. It is a big number, but it is a big project.”
Ireland added it's normal to use loans for projects this large.
The bridge loan would be repaid through those bonds as money is issued through the first half of 2026. The city council is expected to vote on the loan June 11.
The council first approved plans to rebuild the convention center and renovate the surrounding area in 2022. Voters previously approved Proposition A, which allowed a 2% increase in the city’s hotel occupancy tax to fund the convention center as well as Fair Park renovations. At the time, the city estimated a debt issuance up to $2.1 billion.
While the bonds will cover 67% of the costs, planners are looking at other sources of funding — including grants from North Central Texas Council of Government, proceeds from sale of assets, an energy efficient contract, parking revenues, and cost share with the Department of Aviation, as the center will have a heliport.
It comes as the city is also dealing with funding for a future police academy and a police pension plan. Some raised concerns about how the additional spending would impact pension bonds, but Tolbert made it clear she saw no reason for concern.
The convention center updates are expected to be completed in 2029.
Penelope Rivera is KERA’s breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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