After nearly six months of toil, a visibly exhausted Visitor Impact Task Force granted its imprimatur to a proposal to fund the expansion of the Austin Convention Center, albeit with a number of attached recommendations. Tuesday’s vote came at the end of a nearly five-hour meeting held on the 17th floor of the Hyatt Regency […]
Austin Convention Center
This city department operates the downtown convention center and associated events.
Posted inDevelopment
UTC endorses second convention center skybridge
Plans for another new skybridge in downtown Austin have cleared the second of three challenges set forth last month by a skeptical Planning Commission. On May 9, the proposal scored the support of the Urban Transportation Commission after that body heard how the bridge is aimed at reducing “congestion” in a unique corner of downtown. […]
Posted inAustin
Austin’s Visitor Impact Task Force nearing deadline to report to City Council
For the past several months, Austin’s Visitor Impact Task Force has been exploring new uses for the millions of tax dollars brought in by the city’s hotels. The group also has to contend with a host of state and local regulations that govern how exactly the funds can be spent. Revenue from Austin’s Hotel Occupancy […]
Posted inParks
Parks officials eye hotel tax dollars for underfunded capital projects
With changes expected in how Austin allocates its fast-growing pool of tax money generated from local hotel and motel stays, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department has put forward the first version of its wish list for expensive infrastructure projects. On Thursday, City Council approved the transfer of nearly $1 million of Hotel Occupancy Tax […]
Posted inAustin
Convention center advocates taking pro-expansion message to community
A new coalition of Austin business, political and civic leaders is putting its support behind the proposed expansion of the Austin Convention Center and will be taking the message to local groups in the coming months. Known as A New Vision for Austin’s Convention Center, the coalition is operating with some assistance from the Austin Convention & Visitors […]
Posted inPlanning
Convention center skybridge postponed by Planning Commission
A request seeking permission to construct a pedestrian skybridge connecting the Austin Convention Center and the Hilton Austin hotel downtown was postponed by the Planning Commission last week. The case, which the commission came close to denying altogether, will now be reviewed by the Downtown, Design and Urban Transportation commissions before returning to the Planning […]
Posted inAustin
City task force weighs new uses for hotel occupancy tax
With more tourists coming to Austin each year, the city’s hotels are generating more and more revenue. Some of that funding is set aside to support Austin’s tourism industry, and as the number of guests and hotels grow, so does that pot of money. A city task force is exploring new ways to spend the […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Seeking $100M, springs supporters target convention center expansion proposal
Fine arts and natural resources advocates are stepping up their involvement with a city task force that will play a large role in shaping how the city allocates the fast-growing pool of revenue from Hotel Occupancy Tax, which totaled about $100 million in 2016. And the methods used by the two sectors are different because […]
Posted inCity Council
Council hears funding options for new convention center
Faced with concerns that the city is losing revenue because the Austin Convention Center is too small, City Council heard proposals for convention center expansions that ranged from $400 million to $600 million projects at its work session Tuesday. Carla Steffen, deputy director and chief financial officer of the convention center, presented several proposals to […]
Posted inAustin
Hotel tax increase would fund most aggressive convention center plan
A 2-percentage-point uptick in the city’s hotel occupancy tax appears to be the most favored method of expanding the Austin Convention Center and turning the area around it into a lifestyle and tourist epicenter. That financing option, which would be a key part of a possible $609 million expansion, was one of several discussed recently […]
Posted inAustin
Mayor sees collective effort in revitalizing east downtown
Just before the new year, Mayor Steve Adler wrote a lengthy post on the City Council Message Board, titled: “Possible solution to downtown puzzle.” He later said it wasn’t so much a puzzle, but that there were a lot of pieces involved. What he’s referring to is a snaking spine of green space, commercial areas […]
Posted inAustin
Hotel business – and HOT revenue – would accelerate with convention center expansion
The biggest number looming over the Visitor Impact Task Force is fairly easy to grasp: The city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax generated more than $90 million in revenue in 2016, with double-digit growth expected well into the future. It’s the many other numbers and percentages – and how those figures are parsed and allocated – that […]