Frisco Eyes $198M In Public Funding For Toyota Stadium Project Ahead Of World Cup
Frisco officials are in the early stages of a process that could provide $198M in public funds for improvements at the city's Toyota Stadium.
Major League Soccer's FC Dallas filed paperwork with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in May for a $130M project that would involve a 130K SF expansion for new suites and media space as well as additional lighting for a new canopy system in 2025.
Now it is asking local officials to chip in on that and other improvements. Toyota Stadium is home to FC Dallas and the National Soccer Hall of Fame. It will also serve as a base camp for a team during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The additional shade that would come with the new canopy was the most obvious upgrade needed at Toyota Stadium, FC Dallas President Dan Hunt told the Dallas Business Journal. Yet the improvements could also make the stadium more enticing for a future MLS All-Star Game, an event Austin will host next year.
“If Austin is having an all-star game, which they are, there's no reason we can't host one in Dallas and do a great job,” Hunt told the DBJ. “This is a major league city. This city loves gigantic events. I think an MLS All-Star Game here would be a smashing success.”
World soccer organization FIFA announced earlier this year that Dallas will host more 2026 FIFA World Cup matches than any other city. The 145-acre Toyota Stadium will be one of four base training camps for World Cup teams, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Hunt also expressed a wish for new video boards, food options and club seating.
A public hearing on a $198M bond to fund improvements is slated by the Frisco Community Development Corp. board on Oct. 17.
In addition to the Frisco CDC, funding would need to be approved by Frisco City Council and the Frisco ISD board before the bond could be issued. A resolution calling for the public hearing passed by the CDC board said the bond would be repaid from sales tax revenue.
“What I'm so excited about is if we're able to achieve this, it's preserving the stadium but taking it to the next level and modernizing it and truly making it state of the art as we think about the future here,” Hunt told the DBJ.
Frisco is spending more than $70M on work to its downtown area around Toyota Stadium ahead of the World Cup. Toyota Stadium last saw extensive upgrades in 2018 as part of a $55M project.
