DICE: Construction, Design & Development - Central 2026

Bisnow's Central region edition of the DICE Construction, Design & Development series, held 6 October 2026 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. The single-day programme runs from a 7:30 AM registration through a post-event cocktail party, and focuses on what it actually takes to deliver Sunbelt data center capacity: entitlement, mechanical systems at AI density, grid interconnection, labor and procurement.

Programming Focus

• The Sunbelt build cycle: what is real, what is announced, and what is stalling
• What turns dirt into a data center (entitlement, land, site work)
• Building for AI: the new construction playbook
• Mechanical systems at scale and what AI density actually requires
• Financing and permitting power on and off site
• Labor, procurement and the race from contract to commissioned
• The 2028 forecast

Featured Speakers

Operators and developers:

• Gordon Kellerman, EVP, Skybox Datacenters
• Jay Smith, VP Data Center Operations and Engineering, Evocative
• Mark Milliet, Manager Construction, T5 Data Centers

Construction and design:

• Scott Rugen, VP Advanced Technology, Graham Construction
• Steven Wright, Sr. Director of Construction & Quality, Decima International
• Jennifer Toeppner, Data Center Lead Sales & Business Development, Metromont

Systems and technology:

• Matt Kightlinger, VP, Johnson Controls
• Adam Saleh, Nortek Data Center Cooling
• Mike Waring, Munters Corporation
• Jeff Wood, VP, Uptime Institute

Advisors and counsel:

• Clifton Beech, Of Counsel, Blank Rome
• Adam Van Pelt, Manager Environmental Noise Control, Behrens & Associates

Sponsors

Platinum: Tindall Corporation, Maddox Industrial Transformer, Ameristar Perimeter Security, Airedale by Modine, PARADIGM Structural Engineers, USG Mission Critical Solutions

Gold: Graham Construction, Network Connex, Martin/Martin, PENTA Building Group, Husch Blackwell, Johnson Controls, Grundfos, Behrens and Associates, Nortek Data Center Cooling, Uptime Institute, Wesco Data Center Solutions, The ProLift Rigging Company, Metromont, Winstead, Decima International, Blank Rome, XYZ Reality

Silver: Essel Environmental Consulting, Wesanco ZSI, TIPCO Technologies, Pike Telecom & Renewables, Cochrane USA, Virginia Transformer, Carlson Energy, Assa Abloy, Allegion, Powersystems Group, eVOLVE Data Center Solutions, Moss Utilities

Media partners: Data Center Post, iMiller Public Relations, InterGlobix

Impact partner: Nomad Futurist Foundation

Who Should Attend

• Data center developers and campus operators
• Hyperscaler real estate and infrastructure leads
• Equity investors and debt lenders
• General contractors and specialty subcontractors
• A/E firms and utility interconnection consultants
• Site selection advisors
• Municipal and economic development officials

Logistics

Reunion and Pegasus Ballroom, lobby level. Registration and breakfast 7:30 AM CDT, sessions 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, cocktail party to 4:30 PM. Super early bird registration $395.