A jewel in the crown: Miss Texas draws big crowds to event center

Miss Texas was crowned in Allen for the first time ever last week.

Danae Couch, 23, of Coppell, was named Miss Texas on Saturday, the last night of the four-day event. The former Miss Dallas will go on to compete in the Miss America pageant in January of next year in Paradise, Nev.

Margana Wood, 17, of Houston, was named Miss Texas' Outstanding Teen. She will compete for the title of Miss America's Outstanding Teen in Orland, Fla. this August.

While the final turnout for all four days is still being calculated, early estimates from the Miss Texas Organization suggest more than 2,000 people came to the Allen Event Center for the final night -- more than half of the 3,500 seats available with the half-house configuration used by the pageant.

Michelle Metzger, executive director of the Miss Texas Organization, helped move the pageant to Allen from its home of the past three years, the University of Texas of Arlington. She and a new board of directors took over the event late last year and announced the move to Allen in March.

"It really added a lot," Metzger said of the new venue. "I think for our families it added a ton of convenience because there was so much retail right around the Allen Event Center. Most of our families could stay at the Marriot Courtyard and just walk over to the event, which was convenient as well."

This stands in contrast to the previous location at UTA's Texas Hall, she said, which was five miles from the host hotel and required permits for many of the parking spaces around the hall. The event center's seating capacity also gives the event more room to grow than Texas Hall's 2,709 seats.

"It was the first time we had not done the pageant in a traditional theater setting, so building a stage inside the event center and having all the production intricacies that go with that was something we had to work through, and our production team did a fabulous job mastering that in a very short period of time," she said.

Karen Cromwell, tourism manager for the City of Allen Convention and Visitors Bureau, said a final report on the economic impact of the pageant is forthcoming. However, preliminary reports from hotels and partners like The Village at Allen, Watters Creek and Allen Premium Outlets suggest hotel occupancy and retail and restaurant traffic increased during the week of the event.

"We had guests staying anywhere between four nights to 10 nights throughout the event," she said. "That is a very good travel pattern. Obviously the longer people are staying here in Allen, the longer they're here to spend money at restaurants and shop."

Metzger while said transitioning to a new venue with an almost entirely new board of directors in a six-month period was a challenge, the work was a "labor of love" for staff and volunteers. She hopes next year the event can be announced sooner, gather more sponsorships and take better advantage of the commercial space within the arena.

"We got a ton of support from the community, and we certainly know that it was the first time Miss Texas was in Allen, and so I think we have a great opportunity for next year to really get the word out more," she said.

The ramp-up to the event started June 30 with a welcoming ceremony at the Courtyard by Marriot hotel and contestant performances during the Allen USA Celebration later that day. Contestants appeared at a fashion show at The Village at Fairview and participated in retailer events at Allen Premium Outlets on July 1. Contestant interviews and rehearsals began at the event center July 2.

City manager Peter Vargas said the pageant couldn't have come at a better time for the city-owned event center, which is normally slow this time of year due to the facility's sports tenants being out of season.

"I think it was a great event in keeping with our family-oriented community," he said. "We think it was a great success and we'll have it again next year, hopefully."

Cromwell said the event continues the momentum of the city's efforts to promote itself as a destination in North Texas, adding to the prestige created by events such as the Texas Stampede and Lone Star Conference.

"We're very proud that they chose us, and we look forward to working with their organization as they continue to solidify their transition and move to this area," she said.

For information on the Miss Texas Organization, visit www.misstexas.org.

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