Ryman to Develop $120M Expansion of Gaylord Texan Resort

GRAPEVINE, TEXAS — Ryman Hospitality Properties will develop a $120 million expansion of Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, a suburb of Dallas. The expansion will add 300 rooms to the resort’s 1,511-room inventory and will add 86,000 square feet of carpeted meeting space, bringing the total meeting space to 490,000 square feet. Once the expansion is complete, Gaylord Texan will become the second largest non-gaming convention center hotel in the United States, behind Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville and ahead of Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center near Washington, D.C. The meeting space addition for Gaylord Texan includes a new 30,000-square-foot ballroom, 30,000 square feet of breakout space and 26,000 square feet of carpeted pre-function space. Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year and wrap up during the second quarter of 2018. The project also includes a $5 million expansion of the property’s pool complex, which is expected to be complete for the 2016 summer season. The city of Grapevine has agreed to rebate $1 million of the hotel’s rooms tax annually for a 10-year period upon the completion of the expansion. In 2007, the company announced plans to expand Gaylord Texan, however, the plans were put on hold due to the economic downturn that occurred in 2008.