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Fairfax County officials are reopening the decades-old question of whether Tysons should have a conference center, citing new research that points to demand for a mid-sized venue supported by a full-service hotel.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on June 23, 2026, to direct County Executive Bryan Hill and his staff to assess the idea with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, Visit Fairfax and other organizations.

Board Chairman Jeff McKay emphasized that the directive does not approve a project. Instead, county staff will review previous studies, evaluate whether a conference center remains viable and return to the board for further discussion.

County planners have considered Tysons a potential conference destination since at least 1984, McKay said. That concept gained momentum with the 2010 Comprehensive Plan, which envisioned the roughly 2,100-acre area as Fairfax County’s downtown as Metro’s Silver Line approached.

Visit Fairfax commissioned a $70,000 feasibility study in 2011 that found demand for a Tysons conference center. More recent analysis has reached a similar conclusion.

The Tysons Community Alliance identified expanded event capacity as one way to strengthen the local economy in its first Tysons Strategic Plan, released in December 2023. A separate market study commissioned by the alliance that year partly blamed the area’s slow hotel recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic on the absence of a convention center capable of accommodating large events.

That recovery lagged behind other urban markets, including Washington, Rosslyn and Crystal City.

The county has meeting venues such as the JW Marriott Reston Station, which opened in 2025. However, the Sheraton Tysons Hotel—long the county’s largest conference option—closed in April 2020. The Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, another important site for major events, has since been replaced by an IKEA.

Studies favor a mid-sized facility

An analysis completed by the Tysons Community Alliance in 2025 reaffirmed the findings of the 2011 study and recommended a mid-sized regional conference facility paired with a full-service hotel.

The concept would be far smaller than the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, which has 703,000 square feet of space, or the 540,000-square-foot Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor.

Trying to compete directly with those venues would be unsustainable, Visit Fairfax CEO Barry Biggar told the Fairfax County Planning Commission in February. He suggested that a facility of about 140,000 square feet would be a more realistic fit for Tysons.

That proposal would still be substantially larger than the 50,000-square-foot convention center Comstock Companies promoted as part of a casino-anchored Tysons entertainment district. Materials circulated during the Virginia General Assembly’s 2025 session also proposed a 600-room hotel, a 6,000-seat performing arts venue and housing.

The casino proposal remains uncertain. Legislation permitting a Fairfax County casino has repeatedly failed, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger vetoed a bill in spring 2026 following strong local opposition that included members of the Board of Supervisors.

The Tysons Community Alliance said its analysis examined a flexible, mid-sized venue for conventions, conferences and other events and found promising potential for economic benefits.

County will examine costs and partnerships

McKay said Tysons has matured enough to justify another look at the conference center idea. He argued that Metro service, destination retail and the county’s broader vision for a mix of mutually supportive uses could make such a facility viable.

Both the 2011 study and the alliance’s later analysis cautioned that conference centers often need substantial financial backing. Supporters say public investment could potentially be balanced by additional visitor spending, tax revenue, employment and worker earnings.

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik, who represents most of Tysons, supported the review and asked county staff to explore possible partnerships with both state and local entities. She described Tysons as Virginia’s economic engine and said its future should be a statewide priority.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, whose district covers part of Tysons west of Route 7, also backed the effort, saying the timing was appropriate for a serious examination of potential opportunities.

Hill must report the findings to the board’s Economic Initiatives Committee by the end of 2026. The committee’s next scheduled meeting is Sept. 22.

Tysons Community Alliance interim CEO Drew Sunderland welcomed the county’s additional analysis, saying the concept reflects the longstanding Comprehensive Plan vision and has been identified by community stakeholders as an opportunity to advance Tysons as a regional destination.