Look around Frisco--one of the hottest destination tickets in the Dallas-Forth Worth (DFW) Metroplex--and you’ll learn that play is definitely the thing. Action at this former notch on the Shawnee Trail used to be little more than ropin’ and drivin’ Longhorns. But look at her now—it’s as if everyone is recreating, just for fun—or even a business purpose.
True to the North Texas culture that spawned her startling growth in the past decade, this city has its own expanding portfolio of sports, shopping and eating sites that serve just about any age and preference. And all the fun stuff surrounds a nice lineup of sleep and meet facilities that make the convene package close to complete. Any visitor who could possibly want more has only to venture elsewhere in the region over a network of sleek new highways that make for easy reach to everything else in the region. Other good news: Frisco is affordable and accessible, located only about 20 minutes from either DFW International Airport and downtown Dallas.
“Frisco is more than you expected,” says Denise Stokes, P.R. and communications manager for the Frisco CVB. “We have first-tier properties with a lot of meeting space in a second-tier city, and more coming. Planners and business that come here are wowed by things they never imagined.”
If you don’t know Frisco, ask the nearest Jimmy Buffet or Kenny Chesney fan about it. Those entertainers gather their faithful by the thousands annually at Pizza Hut Park, the 20,000-seat home to the FC Dallas soccer team. That arena includes The Stadium Club for private partying and viewing of the field or stage.
Other play sites bookend the Embassy Suites Hotel and the attached Frisco Conference Center, with its 90,000 square feet of meeting and event space. They would be Dr Pepper Ballpark, the intimate home to the Frisco RoughRiders, with its private suites and decks, and Dr Pepper Arena, the city’s newest sports and event venue, with indoor seating for up to 6,000 people, a club lounge and executive suites.
You want retail therapy? It’s Frisco’s middle name. Things really got rolling on both commercial and residential development when Stonebriar Centre opened its mall of specialty shops and department stores in 2000, along with an NHL-sized ice-skating rink, a 24-screen AMC Theater and a playground. Other shopping places have followed, including The Centre at Preston Ridge, Main Street Shopping, IKEA and Sam Moon Trading Co., which bills itself as a woman’s accessories dream come true. Frisco has over 5 million square feet of retail and dining options in all, and the Frisco CVB offers groups its Shop Frisco Savings Books for discounts of up to 30 percent. And there’s a spa and pampering at the Embassy Suites Hotel or several day spas after the buys.
Culinary satisfaction reigns at finger-lickin’ Texas eateries like Randy White’s Hall of Fame BBQ & Grill and Babe’s Chicken House, where the gravy flows almost around the clock. For something more upscale, groups can opt for private dining venues at The Westin Stonebriar Resort, one of only two resorts in the Metroplex, or Silver Fox Steakhouse.
Adrenalin junkies find their play at Main Event Entertainment, a 60,000-square-foot site with an indoor ropes course, bowling and video games that provide team-building options or just fun, meeting rooms included. Canyons of Frisco is another climate-controlled venue with a climbing facility, bouldering and rappelling. Golfers have their play stations on a Tom Fazio course at Westin Stronebriar Resort and the Plantation Golf Club.
For a city that has mushroomed from a population of 5,000 not so long ago to just over 100,000 people today, things aren’t slowing down. Frisco is adding Fieldhouse USA, a new 144,000-square-foot indoor sports facility with 12 hardwood courts and a turf field for soccer, flag football, lacrosse and kickball, and the obligatory retail spaces, including a food court, a Dallas Maverick’s team store, meeting rooms and a Nike concept store.
Just another Texas-sized play site, for fun or business.
