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Frisco officials are postponing the grand opening of the Fourth Street Plaza until after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Frisco City Manager Wes Pierson said during a May 5 meeting the city is cancelling the June 20 grand opening event for the plaza because construction will not be finished in time.
“We have some more work to do to make sure that project is completed correctly,” Pierson said.
The gist
City officials had initially planned for all major Rail District redevelopment projects to be complete in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which runs from June 11-July 19. Frisco’s Toyota Stadium will serve as the home base for the Sweden National Team during the tournament.
However, Frisco engineering director Jason Brodigan said the city’s focus on completing construction on Main Street and the downtown parking garage led the Fourth Street Plaza project to fall behind schedule.
“We always prioritized Main Street and the garage so that people had a place to come down and walk and get to businesses,” Brodigan said. “As those choices were being made, we did end up sacrificing some of the schedule of the plaza.”
Brodigan said city staff hoped to complete the plaza and other downtown projects in time for the World Cup so that visitors and businesses could take advantage of the improvements.
“We had still hoped to make [the June 20 grand opening], but it became obvious here recently that we were not going to be able to make it,” Brodigan said.
Some context
Frisco is investing more than $80 million to redevelop its downtown area, primarily through three projects:
Brodigan said the Main Street construction and public parking garage are both nearing completion. Once finished, the plaza project is planned to include shaded rail-themed paths, an outdoor performance stage, a large lawn with open seating and a rail-themed public gathering place.
Construction on the plaza began in September 2024, per the city’s downtown construction map.
Next steps
Mayor Jeff Cheney said while the full plaza won’t be completed, other downtown components are expected to be functional in time for the anticipated World Cup foot traffic. He added the city still plans to hold a public unveiling at a later date when the plaza’s stage and features are ready to go.
“This has been nearly a decade long project, so we want to make sure that it finishes correctly,” Cheney said.
