Is the Dixie Convention Center Being Expanded? Quick Answer
Washington County is hiring an architect to design an expansion. In a public notice posted Oct. 18, 2026, the county asked qualified, Utah-licensed architectural firms to submit proposals for the Dixie Convention Center Expansion at 1835 South Convention Center Drive in St. George. The project would add about 117,145 square feet of new space to the existing 170,697-square-foot Dixie Center. Proposals are due at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, 2026.
What the County Is Asking For
According to the notice, the selected firm will take the project from programming verification through construction documents and construction administration. In other words, the architect would confirm the building program, produce the drawings used to build the addition, and stay involved while it is built.
| Item | Details from the county notice |
|---|---|
| Who can apply | Qualified, Utah-licensed architectural firms |
| Site | Dixie Convention Center, 1835 South Convention Center Drive, St. George |
| Existing building | 170,697 square feet |
| Proposed addition | About 117,145 square feet |
| Scope of services | Programming verification through construction documents and construction administration |
| Deadline | 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 |
| Where to submit | Washington County Commission Office, 111 E. Tabernacle, St. George, UT 84770 |
By simple addition, the two figures in the notice come to roughly 287,800 square feet. The addition alone would be about two-thirds the size of the current building.
The full Request for Proposal is not posted on the county's website. Firms can get a copy by emailing Nicholle Felshaw at nicholle.felshaw@washco.utah.gov, the notice says.
How the Project Could Be Paid For
The architect notice does not mention funding. A separate county notice does. On July 14, 2026, the Washington County Commission adopted a resolution authorizing up to $50 million in sales tax revenue bonds. The bonds would be repaid from county transient room tax (TRT) revenue and from the Tourism, Recreation, Cultural, Convention, and Airport Facilities tax (TRCC). Under the resolution, the bonds could finance:
- Facilities at St. George Regional Airport (the Airport Expansion Project)
- The purchase of an interest in the Dixie Center and/or the improvement and expansion of the Dixie Center (the Dixie Center Project)
- A combination of the two
The bonds may run up to 30 years at interest rates of no more than 6.0%. If the full $50 million were issued and held to maturity, the county estimated total principal and interest at about $97.6 million. The commission scheduled a public hearing on the bonds for its Sept. 15, 2026 meeting.
The county's notices do not say how much of the bond money would go to the Dixie Center versus the airport, whether bonds have been sold, what the expansion is estimated to cost, or what the new space would contain. They also give no construction start or completion date.
Events at the Dixie Center This Season
The Dixie Convention Center continues to host community events. Upcoming dates on our calendar include:
- Love Local Holiday Market, Nov. 7, in the center's parking lot
- Jubilee of Trees, Nov. 18 to 21
- Jubilee of Trees Exclusive Chamber Breakfast, Nov. 19
- Dickens Christmas Festival, Dec. 2 to 5
For more, see our Christmas events in Southern Utah guide, the full events calendar and our St. George city guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the Dixie Convention Center expansion?
About 117,145 square feet of new space, added to the existing 170,697-square-foot building, according to Washington County.
When are architect proposals due?
By 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, at the Washington County Commission Office, 111 E. Tabernacle in St. George.
How do firms get the RFP?
By emailing nicholle.felshaw@washco.utah.gov. The county did not post the full RFP online.
How will the expansion be funded?
The county authorized up to $50 million in TRT and TRCC sales tax revenue bonds that can fund the Dixie Center project, the St. George Regional Airport expansion, or both. The split has not been published.
When will construction start?
The county has not announced a construction schedule.
Update, Nov. 2: County Seeks a Construction Manager/General Contractor
On Oct. 29 Washington County posted a second Dixie Center notice, this one asking for proposals from firms to serve as construction manager/general contractor for the expansion at 1835 South Convention Center Drive. Any general contractor planning to submit a proposal must attend a mandatory pre-proposal meeting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, in Entrada Room A at the Dixie Convention Center. Proposals are due at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2026.
The notice says copies of the RFP are available from the owner starting Oct. 29 and that the county reserves the right to award to the firm whose proposal provides the best value, based on qualification and cost criteria in the RFP. It directs all questions to County Administrator Nicholle Felshaw at 435-301-7000 or nicholle.felshaw@washco.utah.gov and says no other contacts should be used. The notice does not state the scope of work, project budget or construction timeline. The architect deadline in this article, Oct. 30, has passed; we did not find an announcement of which firm, if any, has been selected.
Sources
- Washington County: RFP for Architectural Firms for Dixie Convention Center Expansion (Oct. 18, 2026)
- Washington County: Notice of Bonds to be Issued and Public Hearing for Airport Expansion Project and Dixie Center Project (July 16, 2026)
- Washington County: RFP for Construction Manager/General Contractor Services for Dixie Convention Center Expansion (Oct. 29, 2026)
Published October 21, 2026.
