San Antonio proposes $850M convention center expansion

San Antonio leaders have proposed an $850 million investment in the Henry B. González Convention Center, setting up an expansion to help the city compete with other rapidly growing urban centers both domestically and internationally. 

The two-phase project comes in as a part of the city’s larger vision to create a cornerstone sports and entertainment district. The convention center would include 136,000 square feet of additional exhibit hall space alongside a 50,000-square-foot ballroom and a connection to Hemisfair’s Civic Park. 

Once completed, the center’s layout will cover roughly 1.6 million square feet in total. Officials estimate that 650,000 square feet of that footprint will be dedicated exclusively to exhibit hall space. 

The two-phase project comes in with an estimate that is around $100 million more than previous iterations. It also serves as a major component of the upcoming sports and entertainment district known as Project Marvel – a $1.3 billion redevelopment project dedicated to revitalizing the downtown area. 

The convention center’s first phase will cost around $750 million and prioritize exhibit and ballroom space. Phase 2 will take up the remaining $150 million for meeting spaces. City leaders anticipate procuring a designer for the expansion in 2027 after receiving approval from the council. Construction may not begin until either 2028 or 2029. 

Expanding the Henry B. González Convention Center serves as one of several key projects needed to realize Project Marvel. The highest profile initiative included in the plan is the construction of a new Spurs arena. The city also recently announced that it plans to spend $125 million to improve the Alamodome – another core component of the Project Marvel vision – over the next decade. 

San Antonio isn’t the only city investing in convention center development. Houston has committed to a $2 billion expansion for the George R. Brown Convention Center, transforming downtown Houston into a convention and entertainment district. The city recently released the project’s master plan, scheduling the completion of the first phase by 2028. 

Austin has been hard at work with its own $1.6 billion Austin Convention Center vision, planning to redevelop and expand the facility. The city has already demolished the original convention center. City officials anticipate that the new center will be open by 2029, providing a larger, more efficient cultural destination for residents and visitors alike. 

Dallas has its own plan to expand the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Expansion work is already underway for the site, with the master plan adding roughly 500,000 square feet of event space with new exhibit halls, improved meeting rooms and a massive ballroom. Other core components include a practice facility for the Dallas Wings, restoring the auditorium and reconstructing the Black Academy of Arts and Letters. 

Expanding the Henry B. González Convention Center, alongside other fundamental aspects of Project Marvel, would ensure San Antonio remains a hot seat for business and culture. “There’s another 70-plus events that we will be able to go after, which equates to about $718 million of additional economic impact to the City of San Antonio,” said Visit San Antonio CEO Mario Bass. 

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