Populous market study recommends 1,500-seat arena, hotel and 300 stalls; commissioners approve buying portable stalls for fairgrounds

The McLennan County Commissioners Court on March 18 accepted a market-demand report from Populous and authorized a capital purchase of portable livestock/equine stalls for the Extraco (Heart O’ Texas) Event Center.

Populous and Hunden (market consultant) presented a draft market-demand and site recommendations that call for a 1,500-seat flexible multipurpose arena with a minimum 125-by-300-foot floor, roughly 4,000 square feet of meeting space and a conference hotel (dual-branded) on the campus to support events. The consultants also recommended space and infrastructure to support up to 300 additional portable stalls to expand equine and livestock event capacity over the next five years.

Bill (Populous) summarized the findings and Derek (Hunden) said the proposed hotel would be dual-branded to capture two price points and to avoid competing with downtown convention meeting space. Populous said planners will next prepare programming, rough-order cost estimates and an economic- and fiscal-impact analysis to help the county prioritize projects.

Separately, the court approved a request to purchase portable stalls to expand the fairgrounds’ stall barn. Wes Allison and Mike Taywater, representing the Extraco/Heart O’ Texas Fair board, told the court a manufacturer quote for the stalls and delivery was about $291,060; the board asked the county to fund the purchase. Commissioners approved the purchase on a motion and second, contingent on getting freight included or negotiated in the final price.

Wes Allison described the portable stalls as lighter, movable units that would let the venue turn the space faster between different event types (for example, from equine to cattle events), reduce rental expenses for outside shows and increase the center’s ability to host larger competitions. County staff noted lead times of about four months for manufacture and delivery.

Commissioners and guests also discussed long-term site concepts from the Populous master plan, including parking, upgraded signage and phased development spanning decades. County officials said the county owns about 105 acres of the campus and that the master-plan work is intended to guide capital and maintenance decisions over a 40-year horizon.

The court approved both the Populous report (for recording purposes) and the stall purchase motion by voice vote.