Venue management and hospitality company Spectra will become the new provider of venue management for Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, effective April 1. This marks the first time in the center’s history that it will be run by a private operator.

The City of Dallas City Council unanimously approved this partnership. Spectra will focus on short-term bookings, taking over a role historically maintained by City of Dallas employees. Visit Dallas will emphasize bookings 18 months out or more at KBHCCD, in addition to other venues in the city.

“Partnering with Spectra is going to help Visit Dallas continue its best-in-class, customer-focused service, and its addition gives us new, meaningful ways to spotlight our city as a must-visit destination,” said Phillip Jones, president and CEO of Visit Dallas.

He added, “We look forward to introducing Spectra to a new crop of meeting planners, while also rekindling relationships with conventions that have visited Dallas in the past.”

KBHCCD welcomes more than 1 million visitors annually and has 1 million square feet of exhibit space.

Day-to-day operations at KBHCCD will be managed by Spectra to increase revenue and improve the client experience. Upcoming tasks include evaluating current booking practices and space availability, making changes to ensure optimal efficiency, and committing additional resources to Visit Dallas’ marketing efforts.

The company will leverage existing relationships and operational standards to benefit the center when negotiating contracts and pricing.

“We’re eager to roll up our sleeves and get started,” said Dave Anderson, Spectra’s senior vice president of convention centers. “Spectra is heavily invested in Dallas and appreciates everything the city and Visit Dallas have done to position the city and surrounding community in the international marketplace.

He continued, “We look forward to working in concert with the city and Visit Dallas to align the convention center with the city’s amazing assets to show meeting planners all that Dallas has to offer.”

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