FRISCO, Texas — This story was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. Read the original version here.
FC Dallas President Dan Hunt wants North Texas to host the MLS All-Star Game.
Next year's game will take place in Austin. Houston hosted the event in 2010. Yet the game, one of the signature events of the MLS schedule, has yet to come to the Dallas area. The Major League Soccer All-Star Game typically features a team comprised of the league's best players facing off against a top-flight European club.
"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 said in an Aug. 21 interview. "This is a major league city. This city loves gigantic events. I think an MLS All-Star Game here would be a smashing success."
That desire to host an all-star game is one of the reasons the Hunt family, which owns FC Dallas, wants to do millions of dollars worth of renovations at Toyota Stadium. The 20,500-seat venue, built and owned by the City of Frisco, has served as the home to FC Dallas since it opened in 2005.
Details about the possible renovations, including how much they will cost and how they will be be paid for, have been scarce and the club has stayed tight-lipped.
FC Dallas submitted a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in May indicating its plans for $130 million in renovations including a 130,000-square-foot expansion "of premium product including clubs and suites" as well as new broadcast and press areas to meet Major League Soccer guidelines. New canopy lighting could also be added. While TDLR filings provide an early indication of construction plans, they are often preliminary and subject to change.
The filing lists HKS a Dallas-based firm involved with past renovations in the stadium, the designer for the project.
For years, club supporters have called for more shade at Toyota Stadium, and Hunt described it as the most "obvious" needed upgrade.
"I mean, I don't really need to probably go further than that with it," Hunt said.
Hunt also spoke of a desire for more and better restaurants and concessions, new video boards and additional club seating.
FC Dallas also appears to be looking at securing public funding to help finance the project.
The Frisco Community Development Corp. board passed a resolution on Aug. 15 calling for a public hearing regarding $198 million of public funding for upgrades at Toyota Stadium. The upgrades will be financed by bonds issued by the CDC and repaid from sales tax revenue, according to the resolution.
The public financing would be used to support renovations of the ticketing building, concessions and restrooms, seating, roof shade and canopy, and upgrades of stadium's electronic message boards, signage, sound system and other electronic equipment.
It remains unclear if the proposed funding represents the entire cost of the project or a portion. It's also unclear if there will be any private funding component for the project.
Hunt described the CDC's passage of the resolution as a "first major step." The public hearing will take place on Oct. 17. The Frisco City Council and Frisco Independent School District will also need to give approval in the city known for its affinity for "3Ps" as leaders refer to public-private partnerships.
"It'll be a really critical next 60 days or so as we go along here," Hunt said, "but there'll be more announcements inside of that assuming everything keeps progressing forward."
City Manager Wes Pierson declined to comment on the specifics but said in a statement said the city has an "invaluable" partnership with FC Dallas and Hunt Sports Group. He also described Toyota Stadium as "integral" to the city's brand, history and success.
Frisco spokeswoman Dana Baird also noted the CDC did not approve a bond, but instead "initiated a process, allowing the board to consider options." Baird rejected multiple requests by Dallas Business Journal to interview CDC board members and declined to provide answers to specific questions.
Gina Miller, a spokeswoman for FC Dallas, described the construction project as a "public-private partnership" but declined to comment any further.
The last major renovation at Toyota Stadium occurred in 2018. The $55 million project added a multi-level stand on the south side covered by a large overhang and created space for the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Other upgrades included a new 1,300-square-foot patio, new locker rooms and a state-of-the-art media room.
For Hunt, the project takes him back to when he worked with his father, the late Lamar Hunt, on building Toyota Stadium almost 20 years ago.
"It was the last project I got to do with my dad while he was still alive," Hunt said. "To see his genius, how he thought about it — he didn't want there to be a bad seat in the entire stadium. I think that's probably one of the best things about Toyota Stadium. Every seat is great."
With the renovations, Hunt said he wants to make Toyota Stadium "feel like it's brand new."
"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."