Travel Professional – USA 2019

FEATURE

expanding its accommodation options in Fall 2019

and 2020 with the Magnolia Boutique Hotel (138

rooms) and four Marriot properties: The Sinclair

Hotel, An Autograph Collection Hotel (164 rooms),

AC Hotel by Marriott (246 rooms), Springhill Suites

by Marriott (170 Rooms) and The Drover Hotel, An

Autograph Collection Hotel (200 rooms).

The heart of this historic city is the Stockyards

District, the city’s popular Wild West zone.

From western wear shops to raucous saloons,

the Stockyards is also home to the twice-daily

attraction known as the Longhorn drive, where

cowboys shepherd iconic longhorn cattle along

East Exchange Street. Want to get closer? There’s

also a kid-friendly petting zoo to learn about farm

animals, and in winter there’s the cowboy showcase,

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. Be sure to take a

break at the H3 Ranch Bar for a cold Buffalo Butt

beer; it’s located within The Stockyards Hotel,

where notorious outlaws Bonnie & Clyde hid from

the law.

The city’s Cultural District will welcome the fall

opening of Dickies Arena, providing a 14,000-seat

sports and multi-purpose space. The district is adjacent

to Trinity Park, Fort Worth Botanical Gardens and

Fort Worth Zoo, and includes five museums, like the

Kimbell Art Museum featuring Michelangelo’s firs

painting, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, and the

one of a kind National Cowgirl Museum and Hall

of Fame. And for car racing fans, the Texas Motor

Speedway lets one fulfill the need for speed with daily

track tours and a racing schedule including NASCAR,

Indy Car and drag racing.

ARLINGTON:

American Dream City

Transformation is the mantra here as this suburban

city becomes a sports and entertainment playground.

As Dustin Befort, Tour Sales Manager for AT&T

Stadium says, “Its always football season in Texas.”

Arlington can claim to be cowboy country as it’s home

to AT&T Stadium, featuring 80,000 recycled plastic

seats that are regularly sold out for every home

game of the beloved NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. It’s also

where major sporting events like Wrestlemania and

concerts by Garth Brooks and Beyonce take place.

Daily tours are offered (except on game days) to

explore the expansive stadium, including visits to the

locker rooms of the Cowboys and the Dallas Cowboys

Cheerleaders. Art tours are also available that

highlight historic photography of Cowboys past and

present, which are displayed alongside 56 pieces of

commissioned contemporary sculpture and murals.

Ten minutes away, a former convention space

has become one of the first E-Sports Stadiums in

America and the home of e-sports team Dallas

Fuel. Down the road is Globe Life Park, the current

home of MLB’s Texas Rangers. In 2020, Globe Life

Park will be the home of an XFL franchise, a new

professional football league launching February

2020, while the Rangers will move across the street

to Globe Life Field for the spring 2020 season.

Globe Life Park and Globe Life Field are adjacent

to Texas Live!, a newly-opened 200,000 square-foot

complex of restaurants, bars, games areas, a concert

venue and endless big screens to catch every minute of

the daily sports schedule. In August, Live! by Loews, a

300-rooom hotel will open as part of this entertainment

zone, marking the brand’s return to Texas after a 20-

year absence. All of these changes in Arlington’s sports

and entertainment scenes are part of a $4 billion

investment by the city of Arlington.

With western history, contemporary culture

and an endless array of sporting events, the cities

of Fort Worth, Dallas and Arlington make for an

alluring option for clients looking for a dose of

Texas-style Americana.

Texas Live!

AT&T Stadium

Credit Waheeda Harris

24 TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL / MAY 2019