During a Sept. 17 Frisco City Council meeting, council members confirmed they are still interested in the Frisco Center for the Arts project and on track to choose a location for it in January 2025. A final decision on the project is expected in July 2025.
Long story short
Plans for the Frisco Center for the Arts and a path to a Broadway partnership were first presented at a June 2023 city council summer work session.
“There's a ton of people [in Frisco], and this is a really good demographic for Broadway,” said Alex Keen, a principal with Keen Independent Research, at the 2023 meeting.
Keen Independent Research and Theatre Projects are the two consulting companies working with the city.
During the last project update to council members in June 2024, consultants said they had found an interested Broadway partner. The center is not possible without a Broadway deal, said Gena Buhler, a principal with Theatre Projects.
“The attraction of Broadway, the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ we hear when we see a Broadway production on stage in front of us, draws that in and helps to drive the revenue in a way that helps to propel the rest of the facility with trust in that facility,” Buhler said.
A partnership update is expected in October, according to a meeting presentation.
Bringing in a Broadway partnership would have the same effect on the theater that bringing in the Dallas Cowboys had on The Star, council member Tammy Meinershagen said.
“You have to have a major commercial player so that the venue can make money, so that it can actually benefit the community and the community doesn't have to pay as much for the venue,” she said.
The cost
Estimated costs for the performing arts project sit at around $350 million, a $100 million-dip from a previous estimate that included outdoor venue space and a smaller community stage, as of Sept. 17.
The new cost is similar to other large-scale performing arts venues in Texas such as the Long Center in Austin and Buddy Holly Hall in Lubbock, Keen said.
The arts center will be the city’s hardest project yet, Mayor Jeff Cheney said.
Funding for the Frisco Center for the Arts would need to come from both public and private sources, according to a meeting presentation. The city has access to $160 million that would not involve a property tax increase, according to the presentation.
An updated cost and payment model is expected to be presented to council in May 2025.
“This is not a successful venture without a third-party operator that's willing to not only operate according to our standards, but to bring some capital to the table,” council member Angelia Pelham said. “We're really excited about finding that operator.”
Building the center would bring an estimated $510 million to Collin and Denton counties, Keen said.
The other side
Some Frisco residents who attended the Sept. 17 meeting told council members they should add smaller community spaces back into the plans.
Those pieces of the Frisco Center for the Arts were removed because they exist in other areas of Frisco already, Buhler said. Consultants will continue to accept community input and engagement throughout the coming months, she said.
Nothing is finalized until the July 2025 decision deadline, she said.
“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Cheney said. “There’s no question about that. But I feel like we’ve never been closer.”
