UPDATE: Master Developer Says Plans For $500M Cricket Stadium In Allen Still On, Recruiting New Investors
Plans for construction of a massive cricket stadium and sports village in Allen — a suburb north of Dallas — hit a snag Friday when one of the companies behind the project ended its involvement prematurely, though the master developer said the project will go on.
Initial project estimates hovered around $500M, NBC reports.
The original blueprint for the sporting village included a 15,000-seat stadium, as well as opportunities for retail, office, hotel and residential developments at the corner of Alma Drive and State Highway 121.
Allen released a statement saying The CricRealty Co. notified the city of its plan to cease its involvement in the Allen Sports Village featuring a professional cricket stadium.
The initial project was announced in December, with CricRealty working in collaboration with Thakkar Developers to build up the property and stadium. When Bisnow first covered plans for the stadium, developers intended for the village to eventually include 500K SF of Class-A office space, 1,000 residential units, 165K SF of retail and restaurants, two hotels, a training center and an events center.
Completion of the project would provide the North Dallas suburb with its own sporting village, giving it a chance to compete with nearby Frisco, which has become a central location for sports-related developments, including the Dr Pepper Ballpark and Toyota Stadium.
The city of Allen said in a press statement that “future plans for the property are not known at this time.”
But Thakkar said otherwise.
“As the owner and master developer of the Allen Sports Village, Thakkar Developers’ plans for the 80-acre complex are unchanged,” Thakkar Developers said in a statement. “We remain committed to developing this exciting project, and are diligently working with consultants to finalize plans that will yield the best economic opportunity for the Allen community."
"Thakkar is not dependent on any one partner to develop the proposed complex and active discussions are ongoing with a number of local investment parties to bring cricket and other sports to the planned development.”
The Allen cricket stadium project was one of eight announced across the U.S. in the past year, including one in a struggling Atlanta mall.
UPDATE, MARCH 12, 10 A.M. CT: This story has been updated to include comments from Thakkar Developers regarding its ongoing plans for the Allen Sports Village.
