The Matrix data center campus in Sulphur Springs, Texas was pitched in 2025 as 30 AI data center buildings, 3,000 megawatts and about $18 billion of investment on old lignite mine land in Hopkins County. As of October 2026, it is not being built. KLTV reported in February 2026 that construction had halted amid lawsuits over the property, and in June 2026 the city's mayor said the original developer, MSB Global, would be phased out in favor of a new developer that has not been publicly named.
An earlier version of this article described the campus as under construction, with the first building and a Bloom Energy fuel-cell microgrid coming online in Q4 2026, an $18.7 billion program value, and a roughly $6.2 million-per-MW cost. Those claims came from 2025 developer materials and project trackers and do not reflect what has happened since. This version is built from local reporting through July 2026 and the developer's current website, with dates on each fact.
What Was Announced
MSB Global Services held a groundbreaking ceremony on June 13, 2025, according to KETK's September 21, 2025 report. Construction Equipment Guide reported on October 15, 2025 that site work began in February 2025 with Trinity Road and utility infrastructure, and that land clearing started in September 2025.
The plan, as described in 2025 coverage:
- 30 identical buildings of 100 MW each, for 3,000 MW in total (KETK)
- Each building about 278,000 square feet (KETK); CEO Mikey Lucas told KLTV each would be about twice the size of a Costco
- A first phase of eight 100 MW buildings in 2026, with the first building opening in September 2026 and one more each month after that, and the full 3,000 MW by the end of the third phase in 2028 (KETK). Construction Equipment Guide reported a March 2026 date for the first building, so even the early schedule was inconsistent.
- About 7,000 construction jobs and about 1,500 permanent jobs, with more than $100 million a year in tax revenue for a city whose budget was $35 million, according to City Manager Marc Maxwell (KLTV, September 30, 2025)
- A 35% property tax abatement for the first 10 years (KETK, citing MSB)
Maxwell called it an $18 billion investment. KETK reported MSB's own figures as more than $140 million invested by MSB in the project and nearby road and internet improvements, and up to $18 billion of community investment.
On power, the 2025 descriptions varied. KLTV reported that the campus would generate its own power with a natural gas process, and quoted Lucas saying ERCOT did not have enough power for the center's needs. KETK reported that the first building would run on a Bloom Energy fuel-cell microgrid, with a broader mix of geothermal, solar, batteries and natural gas with carbon capture. MSB's current project page says only that the power strategy is "under active development."
What the Developer Says Now
MSB Global's project page, as it read in October 2026, describes a smaller and less specific first step than the 2025 coverage:
- 1,749 acres within the Matrix Business Reserve, 60 miles from Dallas
- 3,000 MW across three phases, with Phase 1 "300 MW planned" and Phases 2 and 3 "timelines to be confirmed"
- 30 concrete tilt-up buildings, each 100 MW of critical IT load, 278,000 square feet, with 20-foot clear height
- Designed to Tier IV+E standards, targeting Tier III operational delivery
- Closed-loop, direct-to-chip liquid cooling as the planned design standard
- A letter of intent with "a prospective data center development partner"
- 7,000 construction and IT jobs and a 35% tax incentive for 10 years
The page describes the market as favorable to new capacity "entering in 2028 and beyond." It does not give a cost, name a general contractor or tenant, or list a delivery date.
The Deed Restriction Lawsuit
The main obstacle is the land itself. KLTV reported on November 24, 2025 that Vistra gave the former mine property to the city in 2019 during bankruptcy proceedings, and that the deed says the land "will not be used for the commercial production, commercial generation or commercial storage of electricity in any form." A campus that planned to generate and store its own power on site runs directly into that language.
The timeline from KLTV's coverage:
- September 30, 2025: Vistra sent the city a cease-and-desist letter.
- By November 2025: The city had sued Vistra and Luminant Mining to remove the restriction, and the companies countersued. City Attorney Nate Smith called the provision deceptive and said the city had offered Vistra the chance to build the campus's power facilities. The Texas Attorney General's office filed a brief supporting the city.
- February 9, 2026: Judge Dan Moore, a retired Henderson County judge assigned after the 62nd District judge recused, denied the city's motion for summary judgment. KLTV reported that construction on the data center had halted amid the lawsuits.
- May 5, 2026: The city council added more than $1.6 million to the budget, $1.2 million of it for legal fees on two data center lawsuits, including a separate suit by resident Jack Curtis alleging the city failed to disclose project details. About $230,000 had already been spent.
- July 7, 2026: Judge Moore heard Vistra's motion to dismiss six of the city's 11 counts without ruling from the bench. KLTV reported that the September 2026 trial date would not hold and that the judge indicated trial would likely come in 2027, possibly as late as fall.
A New Developer, Not Yet Named
At a standing-room-only council meeting on June 2, 2026, Mayor Tyler Law said a new developer would take over the project and confirmed to KLTV that MSB Global would be phased out. He did not name the new developer. The council re-adopted amended versions of the letter of intent and the Chapter 380 economic development agreement, which City Attorney Daniel Ray said would transfer to the new developer and were intended to address Open Meetings Act violations alleged in one of the lawsuits.
Separately, CyrusOne has a page on its website, undated, saying it is evaluating a phased data center campus in Hopkins County near Sulphur Springs, on the former Monticello Thermo Mine along State Highway 11, about 73 miles northeast of Dallas. CyrusOne says the project is in due diligence with no final site plan, would represent $5 billion to $10 billion of private investment if fully built, and would start on new onsite natural gas generation owned and operated by an unnamed power company before connecting to transmission, subject to ERCOT review. We have not seen the city or CyrusOne say that CyrusOne is the developer replacing MSB Global, so treat the two as related only by location until one of them confirms it.
What This Means for Contractors
If you were tracking Matrix as a near-term bid opportunity, take it off the 2026 list. There is no public general contractor, no published bid calendar, and the owner side of the deal is changing. The legal question over onsite power generation has to be resolved, or the power plan has to change, before a campus of this size can be financed and built.
A few things to watch if you work in East Texas:
- The ruling on Vistra's motion to dismiss and any new trial date
- A press release naming the new developer, which the mayor said was planned
- Any revised site plan, power plan or zoning action filed with the city
- Whether CyrusOne's evaluation moves from due diligence to a site plan
The broader point is that power, not land, decides where hyperscale campuses get built. Census data show U.S. data center construction running at an $84.95 billion annual rate in August 2026, up 73.2% from a year earlier, but announced projects without a clear power path are the ones that stall. Our data center construction boom report covers where the work is actually moving, and our piece on how data center power demand is changing construction explains why onsite generation became so common. For a similar case where power constraints froze a market, see Dublin's data center moratorium.
For subcontractors looking for data center work that is actually moving, our list of the top 20 data center general contractors shows who is buying trade packages, and our data center cost per square foot guide covers budget benchmarks. Texas incentive rules are covered in our state data center tax incentive guide.
FAQ
Is the Matrix data center in Sulphur Springs under construction?
Not as of October 2026. Site work began in early 2025, but KLTV reported in February 2026 that construction had halted amid lawsuits over the property. The developer's website now describes the campus as planned, with Phase 1 at 300 MW and later phase timelines to be confirmed.
How much was the Matrix data center supposed to cost?
Sulphur Springs City Manager Marc Maxwell called it an $18 billion investment in September 2025, and KETK reported MSB Global's figure as up to $18 billion. MSB's current project page does not list a cost.
Why is the Matrix project stalled?
The land came from Vistra in 2019 with a deed restriction barring commercial production, generation or storage of electricity. The campus planned onsite power. The city sued to remove the restriction, Vistra and Luminant countersued, and a judge denied the city's summary judgment motion in February 2026. Trial is now expected in 2027.
Who is the developer of the Sulphur Springs data center?
MSB Global Services was the developer. In June 2026, Mayor Tyler Law said a new developer would take over and MSB Global would be phased out. The new developer had not been publicly named as of this update.
Is CyrusOne building in Sulphur Springs?
CyrusOne's website says it is evaluating a phased data center campus on the former Monticello Thermo Mine near Sulphur Springs, in due diligence with no final site plan. Neither the city nor CyrusOne has said publicly, in the sources we reviewed, that CyrusOne is replacing MSB Global on the Matrix project.
How big was the Matrix campus planned to be?
30 buildings of 100 MW each, for 3,000 MW total, with each building about 278,000 square feet, on roughly 1,700 acres (1,749 acres per MSB's site, 1,677 per KETK).
