Corpus Christi's Hilliard Center, the 22-year-old bayfront arena and convention complex downtown, is about to undergo more than $4 million in renovations that will touch its concourse, guest suites, club lounge and restrooms. City Council approved up to $4,055,702 for the overhaul in June 2026, with the bulk of the money going toward a new roof.
The project comes together as officials describe a building whose systems are aging but critical to keep running. As reported by MySA, City Manager Peter Zanoni called the venue's infrastructure exactly that — aging, yet essential — as the facility shows significant signs of wear and no longer meets modern industry standards for accessibility, efficiency or guest experience, according to the outlet.
The most expensive single piece of the plan is a roof replacement expected to cost $3.2 million, per MySA's reporting. Crews are set to begin work in January 2027 on the 86,000-square-foot roof, a job expected to take almost 12 full months. According to the same account, the scope includes removing and replacing the existing roof system, potential deck repairs, parapet coping replacement, new equipment curbs, roof drainage work, fire-suppression manifold replacement, lightning protection, and replacement of corroded bolts at interior trusses. A filing for the roof work has been submitted to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the outlet notes.
What's Changing Inside the Concourse and Suites
Beyond the roof, the interior work will touch nearly every corner guests interact with. Plans call for reflooring the concourse, replacing water heaters, refrigerators and other equipment, adding new concessions spaces, and completing a full remodel of the second-floor restrooms, the article states. The arena suites will also be renovated and the walls repainted, with the goal of improving facility health and safety, per the same account. The complex's history includes a 2004 renovation of the Selena Auditorium, and the facility serves more than 216,000 visitors and users each year.
The upgrades are meant to replace aging systems that have reached the end of their maintainable life cycle, MySA reports. That framing echoes a broader trend: convention and event facilities across the country are in the middle of a renovation boom exceeding $15 billion, according to Pollstar, as municipalities modernize aging buildings to keep pace with rebounding event traffic.
A Naming Rights Fight Still Fresh in Memory
The renovation news lands just a year after a very public fight over what to call the building in the first place. Personal injury attorney Thomas J. Henry offered $20 million over 10 years — $2 million annually — for the venue's naming rights, surpassing a $13 million offer from local firm Hilliard Law, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Despite Henry's higher bid, venue manager Oak View Group selected Hilliard Law instead, after existing corporate sponsors reportedly threatened to withdraw their financial support if Henry's firm won the rights, the paper reported.
Oak View Group and the City of Corpus Christi finalized the 10-year deal with Hilliard Law, officially changing the facility's name from American Bank Center to Hilliard Center on September 1, 2025, according to CelebrityAccess. American Bank had held the naming rights since 2004. When American Bank's original 20-year naming deal expired, City Manager Peter Zanoni clarified that City Council had delegated full negotiation authority over naming rights to Oak View Group rather than holding a direct council vote on bids, per a report from KIII-TV.
The Venue's Long History on the Bayfront
The bayfront complex has roots going back decades. It originally opened in 1980 as Bayfront Plaza Convention Center before the current 10,000-seat arena broke ground in 2002, was completed in 2004 and cost more than $49 million, according to Wikipedia's record of the venue's history. Today the complex includes that arena with 10 box suites, a 138,000-square-foot convention center with an 18,500-square-foot ballroom, and the 2,500-seat Selena Auditorium, according to official venue profile documents from Hilliard Center.
The auditorium itself was built in 1979 and renamed in 1996 to honor Tejano music icon Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, per Hilliard Center's own historical records. The arena also serves as home to the Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi Islanders men's and women's NCAA basketball teams and the Corpus Christi IceRays junior hockey team, and previously hosted the Corpus Christi Tritons, according to official facility listings — meaning routine maintenance and capital upgrades like these directly affect game schedules for multiple local teams.
City Oversight and Where the Money Fits
Oak View Group has run the city-owned complex under a multi-year third-party management contract that began October 1, 2022, according to a performance audit released by the City of Corpus Christi City Auditor in March 2026. The city also outlined its FY 2026–2027 budget process.
Hoodline previously reported on the venue's role as a political gathering spot, including buzz that Bernie Sanders could keynote a convention there, and its earlier hosting duties for the 2024 Governor's Small Business Summit back when it was still known as American Bank Center. With the roof work slated to begin in January 2027 and run nearly a full year, the venue's next chapter will play out while it continues to host the sports teams, concerts and conventions that keep it near the center of Corpus Christi's civic life.
