Glass Cactus Breaks Ground

Gaylord Entertainment Co.’s latest foray into entertainment venues, the $16 million Glass Cactus, broke ground in late September at the company’s resort and convention center in Grapevine, Texas.

The 29,000 square-foot, two-story facility, expected to open in late 2006, will feature a 60′ x 30′ sound stage, four bars, a 1,200-square-foot dance floor, 5,000 square feet of patio decks on two floors, a VIP entrance and a seating capacity of up to 1,000.

“Glass Cactus is the perfect addition to our existing venues, offering guests a fantastically unique place to listen to live music, dance or host a private party,” Gaylord Chairman/CEO Colin Reed said.

Venue officials will focus on attracting top-name national acts and local acts ranging from rock ‘n’ roll to country to jazz.

As to whether the Glass Cactus will mean more competition for the area’s live music venues, Marty Travis, GM of Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth, isn’t overly concerned. He said Billy Bob’s, which can seat up to 6,000, could lose some of the large convention groups from the Gaylord Texan during the week but he doesn’t expect it to be a big problem.

“If they start booking entertainment over the top of us, it could affect us,” he told the paper, but added he doesn’t expect Billy Bob’s to lose any top-name acts to the Glass Cactus because of the different venue capacities.