en.Wedoany.com Reported - Dallas County, USA, has activated its new Emergency Operations Center, where nearly 200 federal, state, and local personnel coordinate public safety for its inaugural mission: supporting the FIFA World Cup matches held in North Texas. The $26.2 million, 39,000-square-foot facility, located in Dallas, is a permanent county-level emergency operations center. Built by Azteca-Omega Group, with Kaizen Development Partners as the developer, the facility was completed after 18 months of construction and opened on June 10. KAI handled architecture, interior design, mechanical, electrical, and fire protection engineering, while CBRE and McKissack & McKissack served as owner representatives. The tournament, which runs through mid-July, takes place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, marking the building's first mission.
The facility replaces a temporary emergency operations solution previously housed in a converted manufacturing and distribution warehouse. Derwin Broughton, Vice President and Senior Director at KAI, who served as project manager and architect, stated that while the old solution had backup power, it lacked the resilience needed to coordinate emergency management for 31 cities and 2.6 million residents.
Designed to ICC 500-2020 storm shelter standards, the building can withstand winds of up to 250 miles per hour and wind-borne debris impact. Redundant data, communications, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems provide backups for every critical function, enabling the facility to operate independently for at least five days. Broughton noted that the facility is designed as the nerve center for Dallas County emergency operations, bringing decision-makers together in a purpose-built environment that supports clear, fast, and decisive action during critical moments.
A key design challenge was the site's cooling system. The county required outdoor chillers, but air-cooled units need open airflow and cannot be fully enclosed. KAI addressed this by creating a covered, storm-resistant equipment yard to protect the outdoor chillers and backup generators. Aleksandar Milenkov, President of Engineering at KAI, stated that the team worked closely with the client to implement redundant heating and cooling systems on site, ensuring continuity of critical services while meeting storm protection requirements.
The team designed for flexibility, adding dedicated areas for partner agencies to work alongside core emergency operations center functions while maintaining independence. Building-wide meeting capabilities support coordination with external agencies. On-site storage houses vehicles and supplies, and the campus can be expanded to accommodate approximately 250 vehicles, divided into public and media parking areas as well as secure parking for officials and staff.
Darren L. James, President of KAI, stated that while the World Cup was never on the project's original critical path, the tournament has become the emergency operations center's first real test. The County's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is using the facility to coordinate multi-agency public safety and response across the region. He said the facility serves as a centralized operations hub, providing emergency personnel, staff, and public officials with the infrastructure, technology, and coordination space needed to support one of the largest public safety operations in the region's history.
The center was funded through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program under the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
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