Frisco’s sports industry is about to expand again. Four Frisco entities have given FC Dallas the go-ahead to make room for the National Soccer Hall of Fame as part of a series of improvements to Toyota Stadium. The Frisco ISD board of trustees was the last to approve the project Sept. 29, with the Frisco City Council, the Frisco Community Development Corp. and the Frisco Economic Development Corp. having approved the project earlier in September.

The project is expected to cost $39 million and will include new locker rooms, a team store and an updated sound system and video boards.

On top of the hall of fame, The Dallas Cowboys plan to open its world headquarters and multi-use events center—now called The Ford Center at The Star—next summer.

Attracting any sports venue to the city—including Toyota Stadium, The Ford Center and the National Soccer Hall of Fame—does not happen on its own, Frisco Mayor Maher Maso said.

“Sports and tourism is a deliberate effort, going way back, of bringing in new revenue streams to the city to keep our taxes low and our quality of life high,” he said.

Today, Frisco is home to several professional sports teams, caters to hundreds of recreational sports players and houses numerous arenas and stadiums.

Return on investment

The city has spent millions of dollars investing in sports, and the industry has generated revenue back into Frisco. Marla Roe, Frisco Convention & Visitors Bureau executive director, said events booked through the CVB at sports venues generated about
$13.7 million in economic impact last year. As of Oct. 1 those events have generated about $18.7 million this year.

The effect of the sports industry on the city has been both direct and indirect, Maso said. The direct effect of sports—especially recreational youth sports—is the economic impact it has had on the city, from visitors attending games to spending money on hotels, food and shopping, he said.

“Part of the reason our hotels are growing is because of the weekend business with the youth sports,” he said.

Besides the economic benefits, the sports industry has also made Frisco a great place for youth to live, Frisco ISD Superintendent Jeremy Lyon said.

FISD partners with several of the major sports venues—including Toyota Stadium, Dr Pepper Ballpark and The Ford Center at The Star—to give student athletes access to their fields.

“The thing that you see week in and week out is that our students are able to compete and perform at true world-class facilities,” Lyon said. “You think about some school districts that struggle with just maintaining the grass on their football fields. Here we are so fortunate to have these relationships.”

The opportunity to play at professionally maintained venues lifts up the students’ spirits, Lyon said.

“Our kids take a lot of pride when they go places and are able to say, ‘I’m from Frisco, and we have a relationship with FC Dallas,’ or, ‘We play at Toyota Stadium,’” he said.

Roe said the sports industry also creates a sense of community and culture, which helps draw more businesses.

“I know when companies are looking to relocate, culture is a big part of it,” she said. “What is around that their employees will be able to enjoy as well? Arts is a component of that, but I think sports can lend to that as well.”

Roe said it is difficult to calculate the total return on investment for Frisco’s sports industry.

“There’s still so much more from a sporting perspective than [the CVB has] actually touched,” she said. “…If it’s something [CVB] has put in the arena and worked with them we can track that economic impact, but it’s a small piece of the larger pie.”

More than a sports venue

One of the reasons the industry is successful is because of the many ways sports venues can be used, Maso said. Each of the major venues are multipurpose facilities that host a range of events.

Jimmy Smith, FC Dallas chief financial officer, said when Toyota Stadium opened in 2006, the Hunt family, who owns the professional soccer team, wanted it to be more than just a soccer field. The Hunt family saw the stadium helping to grow Frisco, he said.

“As far as Toyota Stadium, that vision spilled over into the real estate and the development in the area as well as far as the growth of the city,” he said.

Each year Toyota Stadium hosts a number of events. Jimmy Buffett’s concert and the NCAA Division I National Football Championship are annual staples at the stadium.

Last year the CVB booked 32 events and tournaments at the city’s sports venues, Roe said, and the CVB is already working with the Dallas Cowboys to book events at The Ford Center.

Drawing multipurpose sports venues to Frisco is something the city does “by design,” Maso said.

“It’s not something you wake up one day and say you want to have the Dallas Cowboys in your city,” he said. “You have to work towards it; there’s financial numbers behind it that give a return to our taxpayer. The tricky things are that’s it’s by design, and it’s an investment in our community for the long term.”