SAN ANGELO, TX — San Angelo's Parks and Recreation Director Carl White addressed the city's conventions and tourism infrastructure during a presentation to the San Angelo Rotary Club on Friday.
White, who announced his retirement in about 16 months, oversees the city's Civic Events division, which maintains and operates the McNease Convention Center at 501 Rio Concho Drive. Built in 1978 and significantly remodeled in 2008, the center was named in 2009 after former city councilman Kenneth McNease, who died in 2007. It offers 12,200 square feet of meeting space with a seating capacity of 1,200.
White noted that the McNease's smaller size—lacking an exhibit hall or attached large hotel—limits San Angelo's ability to attract major events. The adjacent 140-room Clarion Hotel is far smaller than the convention hotels that accommodate thousands.
The 140-room Clarion Hotel, built in 1984, sits in a strategic location next to the McNease Convention Center and a picturesque railroad trestle of the former Kansas City, Mexico and Orient of Texas rail line, now called the Texas Pacifico, or TXPF.
The McNease Convention Center at 501 Rio Concho Dr. Built in 1978 and significantly remodeled in 2008, the center was named in 2009 after former city councilman Kenneth McNease, who died in 2007.
The city must decide its future direction for conventions, White said. San Angelo can comfortably host conferences of 200-400 attendees, with about 1,300 total hotel rooms available citywide. Events like the Sheriff's Association of Texas gathering, which draws 254 county sheriffs, are a good fit, while a 2,000-3,000-person software convention is not.
By comparison, Abilene's convention center features 13,400 square feet of meeting space attached to a 20,000-square-foot exhibit hall. The 100,000-square-foot facility also includes a 45,000-square-foot auditorium and has its own website.
White outlined two paths to boost competitiveness. The first involves remodeling or expanding the current McNease to add more breakout meeting spaces and an exhibit hall, though this wouldn't address the shortage of nearby hotel rooms. The second, discussed for at least five years, is a public-private partnership with a developer to build a hotel and convention center along the Concho River.
The city owns 3.179 acres at 405 S. Chadbourne St., on the southwest corner of the Chadbourne Street bridge and the Concho River. The site once housed the Beaver Lodge Motel—described by locals as a "flophouse" in the mid-1950s—and, before that, the San Angelo Cotton Seed Oil Company, prior to Chadbourne Street crossing the river. Today, ruins from the mid-20th-century, two-story motel remain in the overgrown space, which sits in a subdivision ironically named the "Beaver Addition." The city acquired the land in 2010 and has eyed it for a convention center and hotel upgrade, pending a private-sector partner.
![A circa 1950s postcard depicting the former Beaver Lodge Motel in San Angelo, Texas. The back of the postcard boasted the Beaver Lodge's 71 modern rooms with air conditioning. The old hotel became a "flop house" and was eventually torn down. The City of San Angelo acquired the 3.179 acres in 2010.](/sites/default/files/2025-08/beaver-lodge2.jpg "A circa 1950s postcard depicting the former Beaver Lodge Motel in San Angelo, Texas. The back of the postcard boasted the Beaver Lodge's 71 modern rooms with air conditioning. The old hotel became a "flop house" and was eventually torn down. The City of San Angelo acquired the 3.179 acres in 2010.")
A circa 1950s postcard depicting the former Beaver Lodge Motel in San Angelo, Texas. The back of the postcard boasted the Beaver Lodge's 71 modern rooms with air conditioning. The old hotel became a "flop house" and was eventually torn down. The City of San Angelo acquired the 3.179 acres in 2010.
The overgrown site of the former Beaver Lodge Motel at 405 S. Chadbourne St., just south and west of the Chadbourne St. bridge over the Concho River.
Ruins from the Beaver Lodge Motel, such as this staircase and dilapidated parking lot pavement, are still on the property.
City leaders must decide whether to maintain the existing McNease, expand it, abandon it in favor of a new downtown hotel-conference center—or pursue both options, White said.
Mayor Tom Thompson acknowledged the Beaver property's potential but said no deals are in place. "The big thing that holds it back is parking. How are we going to find space for that?" he said, noting downtown developments often face parking challenges.
In February, the city approved an option to fund McNease improvements by raising the Hotel Occupancy Tax by two points, from 13% to 15%. The state collects 6%, with the city receiving the remaining 9%. Voters must give final approval in November 2025.
More ruins from the former Beaver Lodge Motel at 405 S. Chadbourne St.
Carl White, City Parks and Rec Director, addresses the San Angelo Rotary Club on Aug. 22, 2025.
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