The Frisco Community Development Corp. could decide how it wants to use the 15,000 square feet of back-of-house space in the Frisco Discovery Center at 6:30 p.m. July 17 in the Vivian McCallum room on the fourth floor of City Hall, 6101 Frisco Square Blvd.
The nonprofit Frisco Arts organization is vying with the a group that wants to start a video game museum.
On the agenda is an item to discuss and give staff direction on the submitted proposals.
The two organizations originally pitched their plans to the CDC and Frisco City Council on May 20.
Frisco Arts currently uses the recently renovated back-of-house space as a special events center. It leases the space to various school, civic, business and other organizations, which generates revenue for the CDC.
Frisco Arts Executive Director Sharon Roland said the center is providing a need that is not currently found in the community and it has exceeded its revenue goals for the past several years. With the recent renovations to the center and an agreement with the CDC that will give Frisco Arts more marketing power, she said the space will become even more attractive to potential clients.
The Videogame History Museum is currently a traveling exhibit that is set up at events throughout the U.S., including the Electronic Entertainment Expo and Austin's South By Southwest.
The board of the museum has made it clear it would like to put down more permanent roots, and representatives said Frisco is VHM's first choice. Representatives said the technology and creativity that goes into video games would fit in with the Frisco Discovery Center's mission.
The museum would also h tie-in with Gearbox Software, a gaming company, which is building in Frisco Square and relocating its headquarters from Plano.
The VHM is proposing the museum and the city split the cost of up to $6 million to renovate the back-of-house space, which could include adding a second floor.
The Frisco Discovery Center also houses the Black Box Theatre, Sci-Tech Discovery Center and Frisco Art Gallery. Those use of those spaces would be unaffected by the back-of-house space rental decision.
