Multiple developments were either announced or broke ground in the months following PGA’s opening, and the campus has plans to host several high-profile sporting events that will bring both visitors and millions of dollars in revenue to the city, Mayor Jeff Cheney said.
North Frisco has largely felt the effects, he said.
“Because of this halo effect and the investments, ... this region is going to be second to none for destination retail, dining, shopping, all the office parks, and likely that part of our city will develop 20 years faster than it otherwise would have,” Cheney said.
The big picture
Multiple large developments and projects coming to Frisco are a result of the PGA’s success, Cheney said. This includes the Universal Kids Resort theme park, Fields West mixed-use development, and the Firefly Park mixed-use development.
The halo effect is not just for multimillion-dollar developments, said Christal Howard, president and CEO of the Frisco Chamber of Commerce.
“We talk a lot about all the new businesses that come as a result of a relocation, like the PGA headquarters, but the effect on the current businesses is important too,” Howard said.
Brayden Farrell, a director with The Local Open, a golf-themed bar and restaurant located down the road from PGA, said his family’s business has felt the positive effects.
Since opening, which Farrell said they planned to do before hearing about the PGA, the business and the headquarters have formed “an unspoken partnership” as both PGA campus employees and visitors come by frequently, he said.
“We’ve gained a lot of repeat customers that originally came out for [the] PGA and ended up traveling down the road a couple of miles to see us,” Farrell said.
Farrell said north Frisco was once just a Jeep dealership and a grocery store.
“Just in the past 5-10 years it’s grown so much but as soon as the PGA announced that they were going to build this huge development ... everybody took hold of that theme,” he said.
The breakdown
One major PGA development is the Omni PGA Frisco Resort. Since its May 2023 opening, it has hosted 52 groups and their events, generating a $49.4 million ripple effect of local spending, said Josh Dill, Visit Frisco’s director of sports and events.
“It’s people coming from outside of our economy, spending money on lodging, transportation, retail, services ... used within the region,” he said.
Another 39 groups—and more than $50 million in local spending—are booked at the resort through 2028 as of July 11.
The data is only from events Visit Frisco staff directly worked with, meaning the real effects could be larger, said Emily Pollard, FEDC’s head of marketing and communications.
The additional revenue visitors bring into Frisco can bring tax relief to residents, Howard said.
“Even though it’s been a year, I still think we’re on the front end of seeing how big this ‘halo’ truly is,” Howard said.
What it means
Frisco sees roughly 7 million visitors every year, Cheney said.
“We’re very much a tourist destination,” he said.
With multiple events and conferences held at the PGA campus alone, the visitor economy is only going to grow, Dill said.
“What’s already strong is just going to get stronger, which is exciting,” Dill said. “We’ll create a diverse and robust economy that residents will benefit from for a long time.”
Quote of note
“The PGA has absolutely been a catalytic project for north Frisco and those developments that have come in,” said Gloria Salinas, vice president of the Frisco Economic Development Corporation.
Zooming out
Aside from encouraging other developments to open, which are expected to in turn help the city’s economy, the PGA has helped Frisco get more name recognition, Dill said. The jobs, infrastructure, events and reputation it has brought to the city will only continue to put Frisco on the map, he said.
Several north Frisco infrastructure projects are underway and expected to wrap up in 2026 to account for the growth in the area, including Universal Parkway, Frisco Street and US 380.
“I’m excited for what the future looks like out there and some of the projects that are circling,” Dill said. “It’s transformative for the northern corridor of our city.”
The PGA’s halo effect also reaches Frisco’s schools, Cheney said. Families with aspiring golf players could look to move to the city to have access to PGA facilities through its partnership with Frisco ISD, he said.
Looking ahead
More events are on the horizon for the PGA that are also expected to add to Frisco’s sales tax revenue and tax base, officials said.
- 2024: PGA Jr. League Championship
- 2025: KPMG Women's PGA Championship
- 2027: PGA Championship
- 2029: Senior PGA Championship
- 2031: KPMG Women's PGA Championship
- 2034: PGA Championship
