Topic: Horizons Ahead: Fort Worth Convention Center Expansion

Meeting Sponsor: Baird, Hampton & Brown

Presenter: Mike Crum with City of Fort Worth

Mike Crum is Director of the City of Fort Worth Public Events Department, overseeing operations of the Fort Worth Convention Center, Will Rogers Memorial Center and the Office of Outdoor Events.

Mike is a finance-oriented C-Suite executive with more than 30 years of experience with venue, event and destination management.

He came to Fort Worth in 2019 from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was Vice President for Business Development and Chief Financial Officer for the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.

In management roles prior to that, he was at the center of Charlotte’s efforts to retain the NBA hornets and helped negotiate the agreement that led to the development of Spectrum Center and the return of an NBA franchise to the market.

Mike holds a Master’s degree in Sports Administration from Ohio University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a longtime member of the International Association of Venue Managers, a Leadership Fort Worth alumnus and a member of the Rotary Club of Fort Worth.

When recruited to Fort Worth, Mike said he wanted to be at the helm of “one more supertanker” regarding the convention center expansion. He was here for two whole months before the COVID-19 shutdown put those grand plans on pause for a few years.

But now Phase 1 of the expansion is complete — on budget and on time — and he is ready to christen and launch Phase 2 of a $700 million project, currently the single largest capital project in the City’s budget.