Assessment of Development Potential: Grand Prairie's Entertainment District Area

Abstract

Grand Prairie is growing in population and development, and one of its most identifiable locations, the Entertainment District is at its center. There are multiple amenities located with the Entertainment District such as a concert venue, a horse racing track, and minor league baseball team. However, these amenities do little to keep visitors beyond the time of the scheduled event. Located at the Belt-Line and I-30 intersection, Grand Prairie Entertainment District has the potential to be a premier regional attraction, but more must be done to enhance and unite the amenities within the area. The goal of this project is to assess the development potential of the Grand Prairie Entertainment District and the surrounding area through the examination of accessibility, waterfront development, and entertainment within three different city case studies: Arlington, Austin, and Fort Worth, Texas. In doing so, this paper will provide insight on the city of Grand Prairie's ability to utilize its resources to better compete with its neighboring cities to maximize economic and community development through the comparison of each case studies' practices and policies to Grand Prairie's own policies available in their comprehensive plan so that they may be applied to the Entertainment District and its surrounding area.