According to the Dallas Morning News, the Frisco City Council unanimously approved spending $61 million on a 390-acre chunk of Brinkman Ranch, owned by Dallas businessman Baxter Brinkmann. The city is planning to build a premier park that would include fields and courts for a variety of sports.

Located at the southwest corner of Preston Road and the future Panther Creek Parkway, Frisco projects divvying the undeveloped acreage up between city corporations and the Parks and Recreation department. 

The Frisco Community Development Corp. is covering $23 million of the cost in exchange for 100 acres that it can sandbag to build future city facilities at 2018 land prices. And the Frisco Economic Development Corp. may kick in $9.1 million for 50 of the acres. 

A Premier Park

Fair Park photo courtesy of Shutterstock

In a bold move, the remaining 240 acres are earmarked for one behemoth park that’s more than twice the size of most other Frisco parks and almost as large as Dallas’ Fair Park. The parkland is planned to house hiking and biking trails, a pond, and parking along with a broad range of sports fields and courts that can accommodate football, baseball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, lacrosse, and cricket.

To bring the significance of the raw land mass in perspective, 240 acres are the equivalent of a mixed-use development with retail, restaurants, and residences or a new-home subdivision with around 1,000 houses or an apartment community with more than 1,100 units and amenities.

By park comparison, Dallas’ Fair Park, which is managed by the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department, is only 37 acres larger yet it hosts the State Fair of Texas and 1,200 annual special events. In addition to containing the nation’s largest collection of 1930s Art Deco exposition buildings, the State and National Historic Landmark is home to 10 performance and sporting venues and five museums, including the Music Hall and Cotton Bowl Stadium. And lush nature areas range from Texas Discovery Gardens to the 700-foot Escalade and fountains that were added in 1936 for the World’s Fair and Texas Centennial.

A Sports Destination

Rendering courtesy of National Soccer Hall of Fame

Frisco’s acreage acquisition, which closes Feb. 5, has the potential to become the city’s premier park where a large swath of people can gather amid nature, hike or bike, or participate in competitive sports. The city has already made its mark in pro-sports economic development by landing the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters and practice field, FC Dallas Major League Soccer team facility, and a Major League Lacrosse team. Ramped-up athletic facilities at the new park could position Frisco as a regional destination for amateur and youth sports tournaments. And the size and scope of the park are conducive to even more special event marketing.

"This land purchase gets us significantly closer to meeting our city's needs for community parks at build-out," Frisco Parks and Recreation director Shannon Keleher said in a statement. "While the layout of the land has yet to be determined, we're excited about the opportunity to shape something special."