Rather said she knew that these endeavors are capital improvement projects \u2013 infrastructure projects like a highway, a building, or a train station \u2013 and that the funding for such projects comes from its own pot of money. That money is prohibited, by law, from being used for the city\u2019s ongoing expenses, things like paying its police officers or maintaining its parks. The costs for such ongoing services are paid through the city\u2019s General Fund.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that we think these projects come from the General Fund,\u201d Rather said. \u201cWe know they don\u2019t. But they come from somebody\u2019s money somewhere, and they take time, attention, and somebody\u2019s taxpayer money from the things that we all understand are super important: EMS, public safety, mental health, parks \u2013 all the important things that are way, way more on voters\u2019 minds.\u201d<\/p>\n
The money to build Austin\u2019s new convention center is coming from<\/a> revenue received by the recently demolished center and from the state\u2019s Hotel Occupancy Tax, which must, by law, be used to promote tourism. In 2019, Council approved an increase in the Hotel Occupancy Tax to tear down the old convention center and build a new one. In 2023, it approved two contracts<\/a> worth $1.6 billion for the design and construction of the new facility. In February of this year, the city posted renderings<\/a> of what the new convention center will look like once it\u2019s complete.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A 2021 analysis<\/a> of the project predicted that the bigger and better space would increase the number of annual events held in Austin by 100, drawing an additional 300,000 visitors to the city. The analysis estimated that visitor spending would rise from around $470 million to about $754 million each year and that the facility would generate just over 1,600 new jobs.<\/p>\n In September, Mayor Kirk Watson wrote in a Statesman op-ed<\/a> that redeveloping the convention center is long overdue. \u201cWe\u2019re the country\u2019s 13th largest city, and a top visitors\u2019 destination, but our convention center ranks No. 61 in size<\/a>,\u201d Watson wrote. \u201cOur staff routinely turn down major events because we don\u2019t have the space.\u201d Watson added that he considers there to be a mandate for a new convention center, that the city has already put in a decade of community engagement on the issue. \u201cThis question has been asked and answered over and over,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s time to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n A group of citizens calling themselves the Austin United PAC disagrees emphatically. They say that Austinites have not had the opportunity to directly vote on whether to create a new convention center. They argue that the convention center industry has been declining since the 2008 recession, and that the downward trajectory has accelerated post-COVID, as conventioneers host events virtually. In press releases, they quote Heywood Sanders, a professor of public administration at UT-San Antonio, who has referred to the project as \u201cjaw-droppingly stupid<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The PAC submitted a petition this past fall to force the city to hold an election to let voters decide whether to go forward with the convention center. But the city clerk\u2019s office determined in November that the petition was invalid<\/a>, saying the organizers had not collected enough verifiable signatures. Austin United PAC filed a lawsuit over the rejection in December, arguing that the city tossed hundreds of valid signatures and is hiding how it evaluates the signatures\u2019 validity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bill Bunch, executive director of the Save Our Springs Alliance, is the principal messenger for Austin United PAC. In remarks to the Chronicle, Bunch called the project an example of \u201cCity Hall corruption,\u201d saying that construction and engineering firms have too much influence with city leaders and that \u201cwe build all kinds of stuff we don\u2019t need to be building.\u201d He repeated data from the convention center\u2019s FAQ page<\/a> which states that Austinites will be spending their Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue on the facility for the next 30 years. He insists there are better ways to use the money, including the creation of an arts district on the six blocks of Downtown real estate where the convention center will sit.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state statute does restrict how you can spend the hotel tax,\u201d Bunch told us. \u201cBut there\u2019s a lot of room under that statute to fund live music, arts, culture, parks \u2013 a range of things that would be a far better investment than the convention center.\u201d<\/p>\n Council Member Marc Duchen told us he sympathizes with Bunch. He said Austinites were presented with just one, very expensive plan for the project and that he is troubled that it will absorb such a large amount of the city\u2019s hotel tax revenue for so long.\u00a0<\/p>\n But most city leaders continue to support the project. CM Ryan Alter told us that, while he wants to see an arts district, the south shore of Lady Bird Lake is the natural place for it, since the Long Center and Zach Theatre are already there. He also stressed the economic benefits that a new convention center would bring to the city. \u201cIt is going to generate millions and millions of dollars in sales tax, in hotel tax, and will create a lot of jobs, and in a time when, clearly, the public has said they don\u2019t want us to raise their property taxes,\u201d Alter said.\u00a0<\/p>\n CM Chito Vela agreed and seconded Watson\u2019s observation that, as a large, thriving city, Austin should at least be able to compete with San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston for convention dollars. \u201cI guess, in an absolute sense, we don\u2019t need a convention center, just like we don\u2019t need a soccer stadium, or we don\u2019t need a UT football stadium,\u201d Vela said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a good thing for the city. It helps promote the city. It makes the city an attractive place, and it gives us a place to hold major events.\u201d<\/p>\n Bunch told us that Austin United PAC expects a ruling on the group\u2019s lawsuit in February or March. He thinks it\u2019s possible that Austinites could vote on the future of the convention center in the May election.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/n.s1-convention-1-city-of-austin.webp.jpeg\")
A rendering of the new convention center slated for completion in 2029 Credit: city of Austin<\/p>\n