A $550M hotel project in Arlington has already generated thousands of bookings ahead of its February debut.

Loews Arlington Hotel and Convention Center, an 888-room, full-service resort, is Loews Corp.’s second project in the city’s entertainment district. The property will include 250K SF of meeting and event space and will be connected via skybridge to Live! by Loews, the company’s 300-room hotel that opened in 2019.

Executives at the New York-based firm expect guests to include both business and leisure travelers given its location near two theme parks, AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Park and Choctaw Stadium.

“We’ve got these really great demand generators in the three stadiums,” said Alex Tisch, president and CEO of Loews Hotels & Co. and vice president at Loews Corp. “You can really give Dallas and Fort Worth a run for their money. … It’s one of the nicest resorts in our portfolio, but it also has some of the best meeting space in America.”

Amenities are set to include 66K SF of outdoor space, including an event lawn, five food and beverage options, and a resort-style beach club with two pools and a water slide. The 300K SF of meeting space across both hotels will replace the city’s current convention center, which shares space with Esports Stadium Arlington. The convention center half is in the process of being repurposed into the Arlington Museum of Art.

The project is roughly 10 miles from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, which should give it a leg up on other convention center options in Dallas and Fort Worth, Tisch said.

Dallas is also in the process of revamping its convention center after voters last November approved a resolution to fund $1.5B worth of improvements.

“With the newest convention product in the market by many years, we think we should be able to take market share and get the best groups in the market to come to our hotel,” Tisch said.

The hotel already booked 150,000 room nights related to group events, which Tisch said is a promising start. Asked whether it marked an unusually high level of interest for a new hotel property, Tisch said his team is striving for even more reservations between now and February.

“We view it as a very good base, but we aren’t satisfied with it,” he said. “Frankly, we just want it to get bigger. The opportunity in the market is vast.”

Live! by Loews started as a joint venture between Loews Corp., the Texas Rangers and The Cordish Cos. The latter was recently bought out, which resulted in a $36M income gain for Loews Corp. in the second quarter, per a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Loews and the Texas Rangers are now the sole owners of both hotels.

CORRECTION, AUG. 9, 2:24 P.M. CT: This story has been updated to clarify the type of bookings made at the hotel.