Fort Worth marks a major milestone Tuesday as officials break ground on a massive multi-million dollar multipurpose arena.
Dickies Arena will seat up to 14,000 people and is set to be complete in November 2019. The Fort Worth Multipurpose Arena will host concerts, sporting events and the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo performances.
"Our new arena is going to set the standard for generations," Mayor Betsy Price said in a news release. "It will host wonderful events and be a gethering place for our community."
The new $450 million facility was approved by voters in 2014. It is owned by the city of Fort Worth and managed by a not-for-profit group called Multipurpose Arena Fort Worth.
The new arena will be constructed near the current Will Rogers Memorial Center at the intersection of Harley Avenue and Gendy Street along Montgomery Street in West Fort Worth.
The 2,200-space, six-level parking garage is already under construction and should be completed for use for the 2017 Stock Show and Rodeo.
Nearby businesses are already preparing for a possible influx of new customers.
“We definitely have expansion plans in place already, definitely more staff,” Patricia Perris of Taco Heads restaurant said. “We are anticipating being really busy and locked and loaded ready to go. It’s going to be guaranteed business for us so we are excited about it.”
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Perris said she expects the area to start growing with more businesses.
“We’re very excited about it. It can only help the business and helps grow the community which we think is a good thing for us,” she said. “We’re anticipating a lot of overflow business coming from over there so it could only mean good things for us here.”
