The Fort Worth Convention Center (formerly known as the Tarrant County Convention Center) is a

convention center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

and

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

located in Sundance Square in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

. The complex opened on September 30, 1968, and was expanded in 1983, 2002 and 2003.

Background

The complex was proposed by county officials in 1961 as a competitor to the

Dallas Convention Center The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center (KBHCCD) (formerly Dallas Convention Center) is a convention center in the Convention Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The "Dallas Memorial Auditorium" was a standalone multipurpose arena, de ...

and approved in 1967. Over 14 city blocks (previously known as " Hell's Half Acre") were demolished to make way for the new facility that opened in 1968. The building is noted for the indoor arena, resembling a

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...

. In 1997 the City of Fort Worth purchased the facilities and properties, changing the complex's name to the Fort Worth Convention Center. In 2000 the JFK Theatre was demolished to make way for the Water Garden Events Plaza. In 2014 the city proposed to demolish the aging arena for an additional meeting space. In January 2020, plans to demolish the Convention Center's arena were confirmed by the Fort Worth City Council. In addition to the arena's demolition, the plans also include straightening Commerce Street, building a 1,000 seat hotel and adding over 50,000 square feet of exhibit space, with groundbreaking intended for 2022 or 2023.

Notable events

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

performed there on June 18, 1972. He returned for two dates on June 15 and 16, 1974, doing an afternoon and evening show on each day at the arena. He returned again on June 3 and July 3, 1976. The concert movie '' Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones'' was partially filmed during two June 24, 1972, shows (matinee and evening) at the arena during the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

' 1972 Tour of America.

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's highly successful 1974 "comeback tour" featuring The Band played the facility on January 25, 1974. Dylan played two more shows there on May 16, 1978, and November 24, 1978. On May 3, 1976,

Paul McCartney and Wings Wings were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for their co ...

opened the North American leg of the

Wings Over the World tour The Wings Over the World tour was a series of concerts in 1975 and 1976 by the British–American rock band Wings performed in Britain, Australia, Europe, the United States and Canada. The North American leg constituted band leader Paul McCartne ...

at the arena. On November 3, 1976, and again on July 7 and 8, 1977,

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

performed three sold-out shows as part of their 1976-1978 Hotel California Tour at the arena. On May 1, 1977,

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

played a show on the In the Flesh Tour at the arena which has surfaced on bootleg over the years. February 27, 1977 was selected as the first date of the Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1977 at the arena, but that tour was delayed in starting. The rescheduled Fort Worth date was May 22, 1977. July 28, 1978,

Bob Marley and The Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as The Wailers, and prior to that The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and The Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

played at the convention center as part of their

Kaya Tour Kaya may refer to: People *Kaya (given name) *Kaya (surname) Places *Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department *Kaya Airport, serving the town * Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in centr ...

. On June 28, 1979, The

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

kicked off their

Spirits Having Flown Tour Spirits Having Flown Tour (also known as the Spirits Tour and the North American Tour) is the eighth concert tour by the Bee Gees in support of their fifteenth studio album ''Spirits Having Flown'' (1979). The tour began on 28 June 1979 in Fort ...

which was filmed for The Bee Gees Special that aired later in the year on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. On November 23 and 24, 1987, U2 performed two sold-out shows as part of their Joshua Tree tour. Parts of the second show were filmed and appeared in the feature film "Rattle and Hum", a documentary of the tour. The song "When Love Comes to Town" featuring B.B. King was prominent in the film. The

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

concert video '' Cunning Stunts'' was recorded at the Fort Worth Convention Center on May 9–10, 1997, toward the end of the Poor Touring Me tour. On February 26, 2016, then-presidential candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

held a rally for his campaign at the convention center. On September 15 & 16, 2018, the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n group

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...

held two concerts as part of their Love Yourself Tour. On May 8, 2019, the

n group

Blackpink Blackpink (, commonly stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. The group debuted in August 2016 with their single album ''Square ...

held a concert as part of their

In Your Area World Tour The In Your Area World Tour (also known as Blackpink World Tour n Your Area'') was the first worldwide concert tour and the second overall by South Korean girl group Blackpink. The tour began on November 10, 2018, in Seoul, South Korea, and ende ...

Sports

North Texas Bulls The North Texas Bulls are a professional indoor football team based in Fort Worth, Texas, established in 2021. In their inaugural season, they secured the national championship within the American Arena League (AAL). As of 2024, the team is slate ...

( AAL) (2021) *

Texas Chaparrals These redirects lead to their targets in accordance with the naming conventions for common names and can help with writing and searches. Do not replace these redirected links with piped links. See also * Wikipedia:Naming conventions (common ...

( ABA) (1970–1971) *

Fort Worth Fire The Fort Worth Fire were a professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League. Their home games were played in the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. They began operations in 1992 and ceased operations in 1999. At the conclusion of the ...

( CHL) (1992–1999) *

Fort Worth Brahmas The Fort Worth Brahmas were a professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League, and previously the Western Professional Hockey League. The team originally played at the Fort Worth Convention Center but played their final six seasons, inc ...

( WPHL/CHL) (1997–2006) *

Fort Worth Cavalry The Fort Worth Cavalry was an Arena Football League team which operated for a single season, 1994, in the National Conference. The league did not want to abandon the idea of having a franchise in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, a major media ma ...

(

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

) (1994) *

Fort Worth Flyers The Fort Worth Flyers were a minor league basketball team in the NBA Development League (D-League) based in Fort Worth, Texas. They began play in the 2005–06 season and were shut down for the 2007–08 season. Franchise history In 2005, Sout ...

(

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

) (2005–2007) *North Texas Bulls ( AAL) (2021–) For a time in 1970–71, it hosted home games for the

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

. During the 1990s, the building was home to the

and

ice hockey teams, as well as the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. From 2005 to 2007, it was home to the

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. In 2020, it hosted the home games for the North Texas Bulls out of the American Arena League. The arena also hosted the 1992 Davis Cup final, which saw the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

defeat

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The 2018 National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs (NAIGC) held their 30th annual National Championships at the convention center.

External links

Fort Worth Convention Center Website

References

{{Authority control Convention centers in Texas Basketball venues in Texas Sports venues completed in 1968 Defunct NBA G League venues Economy of Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth Flyers Gymnastics venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Indoor arenas in Texas San Antonio Spurs Sports venues in Fort Worth, Texas Wrestling venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex 1992 Davis Cup 1968 establishments in Texas