Live! by Loews Hotel Breaks Ground in Arlington

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Rendering of Live! by Loews – Arlington, TX

A joint venture between Loews Hotels & Co., The Cordish Cos. and the Texas Rangers has broken ground on Live! by Loews – Arlington, TX, a $150 million hotel and convention center in Arlington’s new Texas Live! Entertainment District.

The flagship 14-story, 302-key hotel is part of the $4 billion vision for the entertainment district, which also includes the preservation of Globe Life Park and the Rangers new ballpark.

“Arlington is a really up-and-coming place located smack in the middle of Dallas and Fort Worth, with a very pro-business Mayor and very pro-business legislature, who took it upon themselves to transpose the city into an entertainment hub,” Alex Tisch, Loews Hotels & Co’s executive vice president, told Commercial Property Executive. “They are building a 250,000-square-foot entertainment district, which includes bars, themed attractions and stadiums.”

Anchored by Live! by Loews – Arlington, TX, Texas Live! is expected to significantly exceed $100 million per year in economic output for both Arlington and Tarrant County and provide more than $2 billion in direct and indirect salaries during its first 40 years.

The upscale hotel will offer first-class hospitality and superior amenities, providing a spectacular location for meetings, events and conventions, as well as a special destination for sports fans, visitors and families.

“There are hotels in the area but we believe the hotel market is very underinvested. There is no real luxury product,” Tisch said. “We see a 100,000-person stadium for football and a huge stadium for baseball, but zero four-star keys in the market.”

The area is also home to the largest Six Flags in the U.S., the old Texas Rangers stadium that will be repurposed, and a huge waterpark.

Designed for meetings 

The new hotel will offer a two-story, 35,000-square-foot Grand Event Center, which will feature a beautiful glass facade with sweeping views of the Entertainment District. Additionally, the meeting, event and convention space will consist of a Grand Ballroom with banquet seating capability for up to 1,500 guests; an Executive Boardroom with five additional breakout meeting rooms; flexible pre-function space; and a 1,500-square-foot outdoor terrace overlooking Johnson Creek and the Entertainment District.

“We want to build hotels with a lot of meeting space, and we believe our ability to cater to groups is best-in-class,” Tisch said.

Other amenities include an outdoor infinity pool, featuring two bars, including a swim up bar, rentable private cabanas, ample comfortable lounge space and a firepit; a rooftop terrace, boasting panoramic views of the stadium and a still-to-be-announced celebrity-chef restaurant. There will also be a working brewery, a bar and a tasting room.

According to Tisch, one of the most unique spaces of the hotel will be the Tower Terrace, which overlooks a multi-use event lawn. The venue will serve as the hotel’s central gathering place to relax with family and friends or enjoy a cocktail.

The Texas hotel was designed by HKS Architects. The dining and entertainment space in the district will open in 2018, with Live! by Loews scheduled to open in 2019.

Image courtesy of Loews Hotels & Co