A horse is a horse, of course, and no one can talk to a horse, of course, but in Dallas, talking about horses has taken up the better part of a year. The Dallas City Council couldn’t agree on two big items on Wednesday’s agenda, so it opted to send a horse-drawn carriage ban—which would only presently affect a single business—back to the council committee it came from and defer a vote on the city’s charter amendments to August.
But shortly after both of those decisions, the Council giddily celebrated a big win (albeit one that will not be confirmed until later this summer): Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will host the International Broadcast Center for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The agenda indicated that the Council would vote to authorize negotiations with Oak View Group 360, the company contracted to operate Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, and “a soccer federation” for a nine-month agreement in 2026.
Councilmember Zarin Gracey confirmed Wednesday that the “soccer federation” was FIFA. That means an additional 5,000 broadcasters will make Dallas their home base throughout the World Cup.
“This is really just moving us closer to bringing the broadcasting center into Dallas for the FIFA World Cup,” he said. “This is a very exciting thing, [and I] didn’t do the announcement justice, but we’re excited just the same.”
The city’s director of convention and event services, Rosa Fleming, told the Council that FIFA did have some requests, including fixing the building’s roof. During discussions last year about replacing the convention center, city staff said it would cost about $30 million, but Fleming told the Council Wednesday that the price tag for the specific fix FIFA is asking for would be much cheaper.
“I think you gave us an estimate of $30 million to fix the roof, which was one of the justifications for why we needed a whole new building,” Councilmember Paul Ridley said. “I assume we’re not going to be spending anywhere near that amount to fix the roof here on a building that we’re going to tear down on a few years.”
Fleming said that repairing a span in the roof that “could cause some substantial damage ” would cost about $500,000. The fix was already in the city’s five-year plan, but FIFA’s request will move the timeline up.
“It also benefits other clients that are in the building who are typically disturbed during the time we have events,” Fleming said. “As we start to do the phased demolition, we’re going to use those portions of the building more.”
The World Cup will bring hundreds of thousands to North Texas. Arlington’s AT&T Stadium will host nine games, but Dallas will host two of North Texas’ four base camps (Dallas Baptist University and University of Dallas). Players will train at either Cotton Bowl Stadium or SMU. A multi-week fan festival will be held at Fair Park, and additional fan events will likely be held across the city.
“I think there’s a lot of community engagement opportunities,” said Dallas Sports Commission executive director Monica Paul. “You’re looking at 15,000 people who will make Dallas home for months.”
The measure passed 14-0. Mayor Eric Johnson was absent when the vote was taken.
It was also likely one of the easiest votes the Council took all day. Most of the horseshoe felt that there was still too much debate regarding amendments to the charter, which will go before voters in November. Those include increasing council and mayor pay and changing terms from two years to four. If the city wants the charter amendments on the November ballot, it will need to settle its concerns before August 19. Its last opportunity to vote to send the matter to voters will be August 14. If the Council can’t reach a consensus by then, it would have to wait until the May 2025 ballot, the city attorney’s office said.
State law requires all cities to review their charters every 10 years. In Dallas, the work began last October with a 15-member commission that reviewed more than 100 submissions from the public. It culled them down to 30 before handing its report over to the City Council, which landed on 15 that made it to Wednesday’s now-punted ordinance.
“I do think just this first amendment speaks to how much we have some things we can work through,” Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Bazaldua said.
Both Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins and Councilmember Gay Donnell Willis said that deferring the vote would allow council members to review and study the proposed amendments. It would also allow City Secretary Bilirae Johnson and her staff time to ratify the signatures submitted in a citizen petition that seeks to decriminalize possession of less than four ounces of marijuana. If Ground Game Texas’ petition has enough valid signatures (the group says it has 50,000, which is 30,000 more than it needs), the Council would be required by law to put it on the ballot.
The Council voted 10-5 to send a proposed ban on horse-drawn carriages back to the Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee. The ban would eliminate all references to horse-drawn carriages in the city’s transportation-for-hire codes. The committee recommended the ban after its April meeting.
Ridley, whose district runs from Oak Lawn through downtown to East Dallas, proposed amending the city’s existing regulations to include more protections for the horses. These measures would involve prohibiting operations if the temperature was above 90 and requiring operators to maintain a log of activity. Right now, carriage ride owners are forbidden from allowing horses to work in temperatures greater than 99 degrees and for more than eight hours a day. They are also required to provide the horses at least five gallons of drinking water every two hours.
Advocates pushing for the ban say that doesn’t address their safety concerns. “Accidents and fatalities are not a matter of if, but a matter of when this will happen,” said Dallas resident Gloria Carbajal.
North Star Carriage owner Brian High said the ban has “no factual reason” and questioned whether it would violate state law. North Star Carriage is currently the only carriage company permitted to operate in the city.
“It violates what it means to be an American and run your own business,” he said.
That was also partially Ridley’s argument, saying it tells all business owners that the city can upend their operations “with a stroke of a pen.”
“I appeal to your better instincts and to stand up to small business, data-driven decisions, and preservation of our Texas historic legacy,” he said.
Bazaldua, who chairs the committee and has supported the ban, told Ridley his stance was “disingenuous” in light of Ridley’s position on short-term rentals.
“I was reminded of the pot calling the kettle black when I heard ‘in the interest of small business owners’ because that wasn’t the sentiment from the same council member when we discussed short-term rentals,” Bazaldua said. “It’s not an attack on business owners. It’s actually very consistent with the investments we’ve had in safer streets.”
While a few council members said they were ready to vote, the majority ultimately decided to send it back to committee. Bazaldua said they would hear from residents and other stakeholders and “work toward an actual solution that is data-driven.”
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