The city of Shenandoah has submitted proposed special legislation that would allow it to build a special events center if the bill is approved when the 85th legislative session convenes in January.

If constructed, the special events center would be an estimated $20-$40 million facility funded by hotel/motel occupancy tax collections, located on the east side of I-45 in Shenandoah. The facility, which has been discussed for about four years, would be big enough to accommodate large-scale events, such as conferences, meetings, sporting events and graduations.

“There’s a huge need for a facility like this because we really don’t have this type of event center anywhere in south Montgomery County,” Shenandoah Mayor Ritch Wheeler said. “It won’t just benefit Shenandoah either, it will benefit the entire south Montgomery County community because it would draw in a lot of outside tourism to our area from all over the country.”

Special legislation for the center is needed because the council wants to fund the facility in its entirety using hotel/motel tax. However, council members want the center to also have sports facilities which conflicts with state law.

“The majority of the facility can be funded under hotel/motel tax today,” City Administrator Greg Smith said. “The part that cannot be funded by hotel/motel tax right now is the sports aspect of the center and that’s what we are trying to get the special legislation to allow. It’s just not crystal clear that it can be done right now [under current law].”

Still in the early stages, the council formed a special events center committee in September made up of council members, residents, local business owners and hotel managers. The committee will be responsible for looking at the feasibility, timeline and design of the project, Smith said.

The committee will also be responsible for figuring out how the city will get resident feedback on the project, although Wheeler and Smith both said they have yet to receive any negative feedback from residents.

“We don’t have a set process yet but we will certainly be taking feedback from residents, other municipalities, businesses and hotels,” Wheeler said. “We really want input from the hotels because ultimately they are going to be the businesses that drive this special events center.”

Smith said the council should be notified whether the special legislation has been passed when the session concludes in May.

“We’ve already met with our state senator and state representative and they have the legislation, so we are already working through our elected officials to get it ready to be filed,” Smith said. The thing about the legislation is that every aspect of the legislation that we are requesting has already previously been passed. So we’re not asking for anything new, we are just trying to make it available for Shenandoah. I’m pretty optimistic that the legislature will approve the special legislation.”

If passed in the upcoming legislative session, Smith said he expects the city will have a plan for the special events center by 2019.

“I would encourage people who live in the area and are interested and concerned with how our city develops as we move forward to join the committee,” Wheeler said. “Those are the kinds of people I would say, ‘Jump on board with us, give us your feedback and let us know what you think about how this should shape up going forward,’ because it’s going to make a big difference in our community going down the road.”

The committee is still in need of a hotel industry representative. To apply for the committee, visit www.shenandoahtx.us.