02:12 PM CST on Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Irving City Council members approved a development agreement Thursday night with Las Colinas Group LP for the construction and operation of a $200 million entertainment center adjacent to the city’s planned convention center.
Council member Beth Van Duyne cast the sole dissenting vote on the agreement.
The city is expected to use voter-approved hotel occupancy tax revenue bonds to pay an estimated $120 million in construction costs. The developer will pay the remaining $80 million, plus any additional construction costs in excess of the $200 million price tag.
The city will own the land and the building, which will be leased to Las Colinas Group for at least 25 years. Under the agreement, the developer will pay the city $1.5 million a year in rent until the city’s bonds are paid off. After that, the developer’s annual rent will be $1 million, but the city would also receive 10 percent of any naming-rights deals and 10 percent of the proceeds from any festivals held at the site. The fixed rent rates could rise or fall depending on the final cost of the entertainment center.
The city is still working out details of how parking and attendance taxes will be applied toward the project’s financing.
The entertainment center plans call for a 3,400-seat concert space with an additional 2,000-person capacity in flexible space. There are also plans for 10 restaurants, 12 live music stages and 50 suites overlooking the main concert venue.
The city also wants a hotel adjacent to the convention and entertainment centers, but those plans are still being worked out.
Mayor Herbert Gears said the entertainment center is a critical part of the city’s plans for the convention center complex.
“Conventioneers want to go to places where they have other activities available close by,” he said.
The convention center is set to open in late 2010, while the entertainment center is scheduled to be complete in 2011.
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