A beam went up in the air Monday morning at the Dickies Arena signaling the “topping out” ceremony for the new $560 million facility.
Trail Drive Management Corp. (TDMC), the not-for-profit operators of Dickies Arena, and general contractors, The Beck Group, celebrated the construction milestone with TDMC Chairman Ed Bass, The Beck Group’s CEO Fred Perpall and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price speaking at the event.
“Our citizens voted in favor of this arena in 2014, a great vote of confidence,” said Price. “They knew a growing city needed a beautiful arena, not just for the Stock Show but for concerts, basketball, graduations. You name it and we’ll have it here.”
Price said she was recently at a meeting of city officials from around the country recently and the subject of public event facilities came up. “I mentioned we’re building a 14,000 seat arena for $225 million, and someone said you can’t build it for that,” she said. “I said ‘no, but our private partners can build it for $540 million with the city’s contribution capped at $225 million.”
Before the final beam was lifted to the highest point in the building, Bass thanked the workers who have worked on the project. “We’re here to celebrate an important milestone,” he said. “Even more so we’re here to say thank you for the 3,544 workers who have participated in building Dickies Arena so far.”
The arena is set for completion by late 2019 in time for the 2020 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. HKS is the architect of record, working with David M. Schwarz. Lead contractor is The Beck Group. A parking garage with 2,200 spaces on six levels is already open.
The arena will be owned by the City of Fort Worth and managed by Trail Drive Management Corp. (TDMC). The multipurpose arena, scheduled to open in November 2019, will host concerts, sporting events and family entertainment, and will be the new home to Fort Worth Stock Show rodeo performances.