Will Rogers Memorial Center saddling up $450M arena by 2020 Stock Show

​​FORT WORTH – Fort Worth Stock Show and city leaders unveil $15.4 million of improvements at the newly-renovated Cattle Barn 2 and new Tower Promenade, additions to the Will Rogers Memorial Center complex.

But while all eyes were on the renovated barn and the new, covered Tower Promenade walkway next to it, city leaders took the opportunity to tout the $450 million multipurpose arena expected to be completed for the 2020 Stock Show.

The city and Event Facilities Fort Worth are splitting the tab on the planned 14,000-seat arena.

Construction has also started on a 2,200-space parking garage to serve the new arena.​

In 2014, the council approved paying for the project with certificates of obligation and money from the Cultural and Tourism fund. But at least half of the cost, or $6.8 million, is being reimbursed to the city by the Stock Show over a 20-year period.

Cattle Barn 2, built in 1948, features improved lighting, ventilation and space for the animals, but it also includes a 120-seat viewing area for a new milking parlor, improved hallways and restrooms, and wider walkways. Improvements were also made to the Stockman’s Cafe.

The 300-foot-long Tower Promenade is between Cattle Barns 1 and 2. The wide, arched pedestrian walkway will make it easier for thousands of visitors to get from parking lots on the south side of the Will Rogers complex to the north side without having to work their way through a barn, said Kirk Slaughter, Fort Worth’s director of facilities and public events.

By 2020, the arena may not be the only new thing at the Will Rogers complex. Cattle Barn 2 renovations are a prototype for planned renovations to Cattle Barns 1, 3 and 4 as well as the swine and sheep barns that will finished in time for the 2020 Stock Show.