Race simulator rental in Dallas and Fort Worth
In shortBoth metroplex convention centers are under construction simultaneously. Demand has dispersed to Irving, Frisco, Grapevine and hotel ballrooms, and the marquee racing event is now a street race through a corporate entertainment district.
We ship rigs into the metroplex and staff them. We do not have a Dallas office.
Dallas is the most unusual convention market in the country right now, for a reason most planners discover late: both of its major convention centers are being rebuilt at the same time.
The thing almost nobody expects
Halls D, E and F of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center have been decommissioned and demolished. Demolition began in February 2026. Only Halls A, B and C survive, totalling 304,250 square feet, and events run in select spaces through construction phases. A planner working from a capacity sheet printed before 2025 is quoting a building that is roughly half gone.
The Fort Worth Convention Center is also under major construction. It is open through the work, with completion stated as early 2030. Its arena hosted a final event on 09/20/2026 and is scheduled for demolition in early 2027.
The replacement in Dallas is scheduled for 2030 according to the venue and Visit Dallas. Several press reports have said 2029. We cite the venue and note the disagreement rather than picking the date we prefer.
What that means for your activation, and why it suits us
Corporate activation demand in the metroplex has not gone away. It has dispersed, out of the convention center and into Irving, Frisco, Grapevine, Fort Worth, the Dallas Market Center and hotel ballrooms.
That is a harder market for a vendor whose model depends on one venue and a local warehouse, and an easier one for a vendor who ships in and staffs. We are not making a virtue of necessity: freight is inside our quoted price everywhere in the continental United States, so a build in Frisco costs the same as a build downtown.
| Venue | Current capacity | What matters operationally |
|---|---|---|
| Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas | 304,250 sq ft in Halls A, B and C | 35 ft ceilings, 350 psf floor load, Canton Gate dock at 1225 Canton St, up to 100 amp at any floor pocket, outside generators prohibited |
| Fort Worth Convention Center | Open through construction, completion stated as early 2030 | Phase 1 complete, docks increased from 7 to 11. Arena closed 09/20/2026, demolition early 2027. Current bookable square footage not published |
| Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas | About 48,576 sq ft, column free, divisible in two | Rigging is exclusive to the in-house contractor. Dock access requires preauthorisation and ID. Lobby move-in is hand-carry only |
| Dallas Market Center | About 5 million sq ft across four buildings | Market Hall is the public-facing building, hosting more than 60 shows a year. Serviced by major general contractors |
| Texas Motor Speedway | 13,000 sq ft ballroom, infield garages, 125,000 sq ft concourse | More than 300 private and public event days a year per the speedway. The infield garages host product launches and car shows |
The Dallas labor rule that catches everyone
Texas is a right-to-work state, which people hear as 'no unions.' That is not what it means. Unions hold jurisdiction at the major venues through the general service contractor. What right-to-work changes is that membership cannot be a condition of employment, and the net effect is lower cost and somewhat broader self-service rights than a closed-shop city, not unrestricted self-service.
Here is the part that surprises people. On the single question of plugging in your own equipment, Dallas is stricter than Chicago. At McCormick Place, exhibitors may plug in their own non-high-voltage equipment. In Dallas, only electricians may plug it in. You may supply your own flat cords, but electricians must lay them.
A racing simulator is a plug-in device. That one rule changes the labor call on every Dallas build, and it is not in any vendor's Dallas page that we have seen.
| You may | You may not |
|---|---|
| Install and dismantle your own display with your own full-time employees | Plug in your own equipment. Electricians only |
| Use your own tools on your own display | Use a forklift, flatbed, dolly or pallet jack |
| Work on your own equipment | Use a hand cart or dolly to move freight in |
| Hand carry small items from your own vehicle | Lay your own cords, even cords you supplied |
Straight time in Dallas runs 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday. Tipping union personnel is strongly discouraged, and labor complaints go to the general contractor rather than to craft personnel directly.
Load-in facts worth having before you quote
At the Irving Convention Center, rigging is exclusive to the in-house contractor, which is a material difference from Dallas. Irving also requires dock preauthorisation and ID, and limits lobby move-in to hand-carried items.
The racing hook, and it is unusually good
The Grand Prix of Arlington is an IndyCar street race that runs through a corporate entertainment district. The circuit is a 2.73 mile temporary street course around AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field, Texas Live! and Loews Hotels, run in partnership with the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers.
The inaugural race ran on 03/15/2026 and IndyCar has confirmed its return for 03/19 to 03/21/2027, describing a race day grandstand sellout. No attendance figure has been published, so we are not stating one.
A marquee race with hotels and stadiums inside the circuit footprint, co-owned by two major franchises, in mid-March, is about as good a contextual hook as a racing activation gets anywhere in the country.
Texas Motor Speedway holds a NASCAR tripleheader in early May: Trucks, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Cup Series, with the 2027 Cup race on 05/02/2027. There is no IndyCar race on its 2026 schedule; IndyCar ran there from 1997 through 2023.
For an activation the interesting inventory there is not the grandstand. It is the infield garages, which the speedway markets for product launches and car shows, the 13,000 square foot Speedway Club ballroom with track views, and 125,000 square feet of open-air concourse. The speedway states more than 300 private and public event days a year.
The metroplex calendar
| When | What | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Dallas Market Center, Total Home and Gift | Dallas Market Center | 01/06 to 01/12/2027. Roughly 200,000 retail buyers across the year's markets. |
| Mid-Jan to early Feb | Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo | Will Rogers and Dickies Arena | 23 days. Removes the Will Rogers complex from the Fort Worth corporate calendar. |
| March | Grand Prix of Arlington | Arlington Street Circuit | 03/19 to 03/21/2027. IndyCar, through the entertainment district. |
| Early May | NASCAR tripleheader | Texas Motor Speedway | Cup race 05/02/2027. Distorts the north Fort Worth corridor. |
| June | Dallas Market Center, Total Home and Gift | Dallas Market Center | 06/23 to 06/29/2027. |
| Late Sept to mid-Oct | State Fair of Texas | Fair Park | 24 consecutive days. The single biggest seasonal distortion in Dallas. |
| Second Saturday of October | Red River Showdown | Cotton Bowl, Fair Park | Inside the State Fair. Locked at Fair Park through 2036. The worst hotel window of the year. |
Avoid the second weekend of October. A 24 day State Fair at Fair Park and a roughly 96,000-seat rivalry game in the Cotton Bowl land on the same weekend, with two out-of-state fan bases traveling in. It is the worst hotel pricing and availability window of the year, and the Showdown is locked at Fair Park through 2036.
Getting around a metroplex, not a city
Rent a vehicle. The metroplex covers roughly 9,000 square miles across 11 counties, which is larger than Rhode Island and Connecticut combined. Rideshare is fine for one person working downtown Dallas. It fails for a crew moving tools, spares and people between a hotel and a venue in a different municipality, around a 6am load-in and a midnight strike.
Three distance mistakes that cost real time. Dallas and Fort Worth are separate cities with separate convention centers, separate tourism boards and separate airports of preference. Frisco and The Colony sit roughly 25 to 30 miles north of downtown Dallas, so a Frisco venue with a downtown hotel block is two cities' worth of driving twice a day. And Texas Motor Speedway is in far north Fort Worth near the Denton County line, not near downtown Fort Worth, so a Speedway event with a downtown Fort Worth hotel is a genuine misread.
Where to stay
| Hotel | From the convention center | Tier | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Omni Dallas Hotel | Adjacent | Upper upscale | The default room block, but the city began physically separating it from the convention center in March 2026. Confirm the walking route. |
| The Adolphus, Autograph Collection | About 8 min walk | Luxury | 1912 landmark with the French Room. The right answer when the client is who you are impressing. |
| AC Hotel Dallas Downtown | About 11 min walk | Upscale select | Straightforward crew hotel at a lower rate point than the convention hotels. |
| Hyatt Regency Dallas | About 11 min walk | Upper upscale | Reunion Tower property. Close on a map, but freeway and rail infrastructure make the walk read longer. |
| The Statler Dallas, Curio Collection | About 12 min walk | Upper upscale | Restored 1950s mid-century with a rooftop. The design-forward choice. |
| Fairmont Dallas | About 18 min walk | Upper upscale | Arts District edge, walkable to the Nasher and the Perot. |
| Sheraton Dallas Hotel | About 18 min walk | Upper upscale | One of the city's largest group hotels, connected by skywalks. Big blocks, long interior walks. |
| Hilton Anatole | Not walkable | Upper upscale | A convention hotel in its own right that general contractors service as a trade show venue. The practical fallback during construction. |
One market note that explains the room rates. Downtown Dallas hotels depend on the convention center for weekday demand, and the redevelopment reduced citywide events starting in 2025. Occupancy has run in the low sixties, with recovery projected after the new center opens. The three largest convention hotels took the heaviest hit, which means availability is better than usual and negotiating room is real.
Where to eat, by occasion
| Occasion | Where | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Impress a client | Monarch, 49th floor of the Thompson Dallas | Top-floor Italian with the city's signature view. Dinner only. Book well ahead for a window table. |
| Impress a client | Town Hearth, Design District | Theatrical steakhouse. Reviewers consistently note it is loud, which matters if the dinner is a real conversation. |
| Team dinner, 10 to 20 | Dakota's Steakhouse, downtown | Sunken downtown steakhouse with the classic private-room format. Call for the room rather than booking in an app. |
| Team dinner, 10 to 20 | Terry Black's Barbecue, Deep Ellum | Tray-line Texas barbecue that scales to a crew without a reservation fight. |
| Fast lunch | The Exchange Food Hall, 211 S Akard St | Multi-vendor hall. The most reliable way to feed a mixed crew on a 45 minute break. |
| Fast lunch, closest | Hops and Hens, 665 S Lamar St | One of the few quick options genuinely near the convention center rather than in the core. |
| A genuine institution | El Fenix, 1601 McKinney Ave | Opened 1918. Dallas's defining Tex-Mex room. |
| A genuine institution, Fort Worth | Joe T. Garcia's, Stockyards area | Hacienda-scale patio. Cash only, no reservations, and long waits on gamedays and rodeo nights. |
Taking a client out
Topgolf. Dallas on Park Lane, or The Colony for the Frisco and Plano corridor. There is also a Swing Suite inside the Hilton Anatole, which is indoor and works in July heat.
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. The only genuinely walkable cultural outing from the convention center. It is closed Monday and Tuesday, which is the single most common scheduling error for it, since Monday arrivals are standard for trade show programs. It is also a heavy, reflective subject and may not suit a celebratory client night.
Billy Bob's Texas, Fort Worth Stockyards. Live music venue and event space with on-site bull riding. Pair it with the Fort Worth Herd cattle drive, which runs twice daily in the Stockyards.
Texas livery, using the statutory colors
Texas is unusual in that its flag colors are defined in statute by Pantone reference: red is Pantone 193 C, dark blue is Pantone 281 C, with white. Under the Texas Flag Code, blue stands for loyalty, white for purity and red for bravery.
That makes a Texas livery unusually defensible, because the palette is the official colors of the state rather than anyone's brand. The Lone Star is a public state symbol and a five-pointed star is a generic geometric form.
What we avoid: a white five-pointed star on a blue field in a configuration resembling a professional franchise mark, the Dallas city seal, and any team wordmark. Other safe directions: the quad-oval track geometry with its unusual asymmetric banking, street-circuit line work from the Arlington course, Art Deco geometry from the 1936 Will Rogers complex, and cattle-drive imagery from the Stockyards.
Proof, stated honestly
We have not published a Dallas case study and we are not going to imply one. When we do, it will name the client, the venue and the number they were measured on.
What we can say is that the market research above is ours, current as of 11/02/2026, and checkable. Every venue status, labor rule and date on this page came from an official source or is flagged where sources disagree.
Dallas and Fort Worth questions
Can we still book the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center?
Partly. Halls D, E and F were decommissioned and demolished starting February 2026. Halls A, B and C remain, totalling 304,250 square feet, and events are hosted in select spaces during construction phases.
If you are working from a capacity sheet printed before 2025, it describes a building that is roughly half gone. The replacement is scheduled for 2030 per the venue and Visit Dallas, though press reporting has said 2029. We cite the venue.
Can our own staff plug in the simulator?
No, and this is the Dallas detail that surprises people most. Exhibitors may use their own tools on their own displays and may work on their own equipment, but only electricians may plug it in. You may supply your own flat cords; electricians must lay them.
On this one question Dallas is stricter than McCormick Place in Chicago, where exhibitors may plug in their own equipment. A racing simulator is a plug-in device, so this changes the labor call on every Dallas build.
Can we unload our own vehicle?
Hand-carry only, and no wheels. The show kits say exhibitors may unload their own vehicles provided no material handling equipment is used, and the industry rules summary specifically excludes hand carts and dollies. Forklifts, flatbeds, dollies and pallet jacks are all named as off limits to exhibitors.
We state it the conservative way because that is the version that survives a disagreement at the dock. For anything heavier than a case you can carry, budget Teamsters material handling from the start.
Can we bring a generator?
No. The venue states plainly that outside generators are prohibited at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. The upside is that up to 100 amp service is available at any floor pocket in the exhibit halls, and all electrical includes 24 hour power.
Will a motion simulator work in the exhibit halls?
Structurally, comfortably. The surviving halls carry 35 foot ceilings and a 350 pounds per square foot floor load, both well above anything our heaviest configuration needs. Ceiling clearance is the constraint in a lot of venues and it is not one here.
Where is the loading dock?
The Canton Gate at 1225 Canton Street, which is a different address from the main entrance. The dock entrance changed on 01/16/2024, so older show kits list the wrong gate. Island booth floor plans are due to the venue at least 30 days before first move-in.
Is Fort Worth an alternative while Dallas is under construction?
Partly, and it is under construction too. The Fort Worth Convention Center is open through its own work, with completion stated as early 2030. Its arena hosted a final event on 09/20/2026 and is scheduled for demolition in early 2027. Both metroplex convention centers being rebuilt simultaneously is the thing almost nobody expects.
The practical answer is that corporate activation demand has dispersed to Irving, Frisco, Grapevine, the Dallas Market Center and hotel ballrooms. We ship to all of them.
When should we avoid booking in Dallas?
The second weekend of October. The State Fair of Texas runs 24 consecutive days at Fair Park and the Red River Showdown fills the Cotton Bowl in the middle of it, with two out-of-state fan bases traveling in. It is the worst hotel pricing and availability window of the year, and the Showdown is locked at Fair Park through 2036.
Is there racing in Dallas worth tying an activation to?
More than almost any other market, and it changed recently. The Grand Prix of Arlington is an IndyCar street race that runs through the Arlington Entertainment District around AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field, in partnership with the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers. The inaugural race ran 03/15/2026 and it returns 03/19 to 03/21/2027.
A marquee race inside a corporate entertainment district, with hotels and stadiums inside the circuit footprint, is about as good a hook as a racing activation gets.
What about Texas Motor Speedway?
It holds a NASCAR tripleheader weekend in early May: Trucks, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Cup Series. The 2027 Cup race is 05/02/2027. There is no IndyCar race on its 2026 schedule; IndyCar ran there from 1997 to 2023.
For activations the interesting inventory is not the grandstand. It is the infield garages, used for product launches and car shows, the 13,000 square foot Speedway Club ballroom, and 125,000 square feet of open-air concourse.
Should our crew rent a car or use rideshare?
Rent. The metroplex covers roughly 9,000 square miles across 11 counties, which is larger than Rhode Island and Connecticut combined. Rideshare is fine for one person working downtown Dallas only. It fails for a crew moving tools, spares and people between a hotel and a venue, often in a different city, around a 6am load-in and a midnight strike.
Does the DART Silver Line go downtown?
No, and this is the most common DART misunderstanding right now. The Silver Line opened 10/25/2025 and serves Plano, Richardson, Addison, Carrollton, Cypress Waters and DFW Terminal B. It does not serve downtown Dallas. The Orange Line from DFW Terminal A is the one-seat ride downtown.
Get a quote
Tell us about your event.
Tell us the venue and the dates. Dallas has more moving parts than any market in the country right now, and we will tell you what the construction phasing means for your build before you sign anything.
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