A video game museum in Frisco—the first of its kind anywhere—is moving to the Frisco Discovery Center.
The Frisco Community Development Corp. on Sept. 18 agreed to terms with the Videogame History Museum, which is the first step in a process throughout the next several months that will include a public hearing as well as lease and design agreements before construction can begin.
What will be called the National Videogame Museum is hoping to begin construction in January and have exhibits in place by April.
The NVM will set up its exhibits in a little more than 10,000 square feet of space.
The terms agreed to include $800,000 for the finish out of the space and construction of an additional parking space. The CDC and the Frisco Convention and Visitors Bureau each agreed to provide a matching grant of $100,000 for the NVM.
The NVM is bringing a portion of its vast collection—valued at more than $2 million—to the museum.
The Frisco Discovery Center Space is only the starting point for the museum's potential.
Built into the lease terms is a clause that the NVM will begin a capital fundraising campaign for "version 2.0" by May and that any subsequent versions of the museum would be constructed in Frisco.
The VHM originally expressed interest in leasing the entire 15,000 square feet of back of house space, which is currently being used by Frisco Arts to lease out to various groups as a way to raise funds.
A split—about 10,000 square feet to the VHM and 5,000 to Frisco Arts—was agreed to.
As a result the VHM scaled back its original plans to a more temporary exhibit, with a goal of creating a bigger, more permanent museum at some point in the future.
Sean Kelly and John Hardie, two of the museum's three founders, said the "version 1" is getting off the ground without any corporate support, meaning that when they have a museum in place, they can go to companies such as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo with an eye to the future.
Videogame History Museum
The Videogame History Museum has been a traveling exhibit for more than 20 years. From the famous Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) held in Las Vegas to South by Southwest in Austin, the museum, with constantly rotating exhibits, has traveled around the country.
Kelly said the plan for the Frisco museum is to include the history and evolution of the gaming industry through interactive exhibits.
While gaming enthusiasts are automatically interested in the collection, Kelly said the museum will seek to capture the interest of people who might not be involved in gaming.
Exhibits in the museum would be regularly rotated so visitors have a reason to come back, he said.
"Every time we come (to a trade show) people ask where we can see the rest of the collection," Kelly said. "As a museum, at E3 we will now be able to say 'Frisco is where you can see it."
