A move to expand the existing Judson F. Williams Convention Center in El Paso has taken an important step forward owing to the actions of the El Paso City Council.
On a 6 to 1 vote, that body gave its approval to the purchase of three properties located on two downtown blocks that will be used as the site for the expansion. Those properties are located at 311 West Overland Avenue, 315 West Overland Avenue, and a parcel just off West San Antonio Avenue.
All the properties are directly across the way from the convention center.
That center, at 1 Civic Center Plaza, was built in 1998 and measures around 80,000 square feet. It underwent a previous expansion in 2002. The facility currently features three halls and nearly 20 breakout rooms.
Plans to expand the center have been at least six years in the making.
While the center has traditionally hosted any number of trade shows and private events such as wedding receptions and graduation parties, convention center officials say it has never been large enough to attract the kind of mega-conventions seen at the 1.6 million-square-foot Henry B. Gonzalez Center in San Antonio and the 2 million-square-foot Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
The Council approved a $3.2 million price tag for the properties, with funding for the overall project coming out of the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax fund.
Next phase for the project will see the development of a design plan. When that plan will be finalized is not currently known.
November 10, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of City of El Paso
