Media Contacts:
Diana Pfaff
(972) 401-7722 or (214) 236-8885 (cell)
dpfaff@irvingtexas.com

Lori Sirmen
(972) 401-7723 or (214) 766-1550 (cell)
lsirmen@irvingtexas.com

FAST FACTS ABOUT IRVING, TEXAS

City Profile:
Irving was founded in 1903 by surveyors J.O. Schultz and Otis Brown as a rail link between Dallas and Fort Worth. The city of Irving was officially incorporated April 14, 1914, with Brown serving as Irving's first mayor. Local historians believe that Irving co-founders decided to name the city after Mrs. Brown's favorite author. Schulze, a member of the Washington Irving Literary Society, also was partial to the name Irving.

Irving's largest private employer is the hospitality industry; local hoteliers employ more than 14,000 workers. This important industry pays more than $46.7 million annually in hotel/motel tax, sales tax and property taxes.  The city welcomes nearly three million visitors to Irving each year, generating approximately $1.24 billion in visitor spending.

Irving's Las Colinas development is a 12,000-acre master-planned business and residential community. Las Colinas has a total taxable base of more than $5 billion and is home to 10,000+ companies, including 50 Fortune 500 companies and the world headquarters of six Fortune 500 companies.

In January 2011, Irving's first convention center opened in Las Colinas. With an iconic design and high-end finishes, the $133 million, 275,000 square-foot Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas takes a bold new direction in a landscape of traditionally institutional facilities, changing the way planners look at meeting space.  Plans for phase two of the project include an entertainment venue, restaurants, retail shops and a hotel.

More than 100,000 individuals work in Irving's Las Colinas development, with more than 30,000 residing in the area.

Population:
The current population of Irving, Texas, is just over 200,000, with a steady projected growth trend due to continual construction and development within the area. Irving is one of Texas' fastest growing cities and boasts one of the state's healthiest economies.

Location:
A central location within the Dallas-Fort Worth area ensures visitors to Irving, Texas, have easy access to the best in accommodations, entertainment, dining, transportation and excitement.

Adjacent to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Irving is a first stop for travelers. The city's 75-plus hotels are within a 10-minute drive from the airport, and the attractions of the entire metropolitan area are within easy reach: Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Fort Worth Stock Yards, Victory Park, two zoos, a host of world-class museums, shopping and more.

Accommodations:
With more than 75 hotels, Irving offers a diverse selection of rooming options suitable to any budget. Accommodations vary from luxury to economy, efficiency to all-suite hotels, plus the state's only AAA Five-Diamond resort. The city houses approximately 12,000 sleeping rooms; 13 full-service hotels, offering more than 200,000 square feet of combined meeting space and well equipped to handle groups from 10 to 1,000 people.

Total # Committable rooms - 2,400 (multiple properties)
# Committable rooms - 1 property weekend - 450
# Committable rooms - 1 property mid-week - 250

Transportation:
People choose Irving for convenience. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which handles more than 2,000 worldwide flights a day, is within three hours of most major North American cities. Daily direct flights are available to a host of international cities. Irving's 75-plus hotels are within 10 minutes of the airport, many providing free airport shuttle service. Dallas Love Field Airport, which services Southwest Airlines, is a 15-minute drive from Irving.

Irving's central location makes traveling around the Dallas/Fort Worth area easy. The city is accessible from six major highways, and by rail services to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth available via the Trinity Express, which has two stops in Irving-the West Irving and South Irving stations.

In 2012, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light-rail expansion will reach Las Colinas from downtown Dallas and continue to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 2013.

Restaurants:
Irving has the distinctive quality of having some of the finest restaurants in Dallas/Fort Worth. There are more than 400 dining establishments in the city, with cuisine ranging from Tex Mex to Southwestern nouvelle to down-home cooking.

Climate:
Irving's winters are mild, with lows in the 30s during January. The summers are warm, with highs generally in the 90s during July and August.

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