Frisco was the fastest-growing city in the United States in 2017,[7] and also from 2000 to 2009. In the late 1990s, the northern DFW suburban development tide hit the northern border of Plano and spilled into Frisco, sparking rapid growth into the 2000s. Like many of the cities in Dallas's northern exurbs, Frisco serves as a bedroom community for professionals who work in DFW. Since 2003, Frisco has received the designation Tree City USA from the National Arbor Day Foundation.
The United States Census Bureau defines an urban area of northern Dallas-area suburbs that are separated from the Dallas–Fort Worth urban area, with McKinney and Frisco as the principal cities: the McKinney–Frisco, Texas, urban area had a population of 504,803 as of the 2020 census, ranked 83rd in the United States.[2]
History
When the Dallas area was being settled by American pioneers, many of the settlers traveled by wagon trains along the Shawnee Trail. This trail became the Preston Trail, and later Preston Road. With all this activity, the community of Lebanon was founded along this trail and was granted a U.S. post office in 1860.[8]
In 1902, a line of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway ("the Frisco") was being built through the area, and periodic watering stops were needed along the route for the steam locomotives. The current settlement of Lebanon was on Preston Ridge and was too high in elevation, so the watering stop was placed about 4 miles (6 km) to the west on lower ground. A community grew around this train stop, and some Lebanon residents moved their houses to the new community on logs.[9] The new town was originally named Emerson, but the U.S. Postal Service rejected the name as too similar to another community, Emberson, in Lamar County.[10]
In 1904, the town's residents chose "Frisco City" in honor of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway. This name was later shortened to Frisco.[10]
Geography
Frisco is within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, partially in Denton and Collin counties, in North Texas. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 62.4 sq mi (161.6 km2), of which 160.1 km2 (61.8 sq mi) is land and 0.58 sq mi (1.5 km2), or 0.92%, is covered by water.
Climate
Frisco is part of the humid subtropical region. The city gets 39 inches (990 mm) of precipitation per year. On average, 230 days per year are sunny. The July high is 96 °F (36 °C); the January low is 33 °F (1 °C). The comfort index, which is based on humidity during the hot months, is 25 out of 100, where higher is more comfortable.[11]
Frisco, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the U.S. census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 200,509 people, 64,151 households, and 48,519 families residing in the city, up from 2010's tabulation of 116,989.
According to a 2010 American Community Survey estimate,[19] the median income for a household in the city was $100,868, the median income for a family was $109,086. The per capita income for the city was $38,048. About 2.2% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over. The median price for a new home was $252,000. By 2019, its median income grew to $116,884.[20]
Economy
Interior of Stonebriar Centre
Frisco has many retail properties, including Stonebriar Centre, a 165-store regional mall; IKEA, a furniture store with an area of 28,800 m2 (310,000 sq ft); and The Star, the headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys. Retail establishments and restaurants line Preston Road, one of the city's major north–south traffic arteries.
Frisco took a different economic track than many surrounding cities, electing to use a fractional percent of local sales tax to fund the Frisco Economic Development Corporation (FEDC) rather than Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), the regional transportation body. The effectiveness of the FEDC, whose primary purpose is to reallocate such tax dollars to commercial ventures, is a matter of public debate.
Frisco Square, a mixed-use development, became the new downtown along with the city hall. Frisco Square has about 250 rental residential units, seven restaurants, about 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) of commercial office space, and a few personal-service locations. The major development in the project is the new city hall, main library, and public commons. A Cinemark theater opened in 2010. In 2012, a hospital, Medical City Plano-Frisco, was built north of the theater.[21]
Major employers
Frisco's top employers as of 2019 were the following:[11]
Frisco hosts the Museum of the American Railroad, which is based in the Frisco Heritage Museum while construction on a separate museum complex continues. The nearby Discovery Center features an art gallery, a black-box theater, and the National Videogame Museum.
Frisco Square hosts a variety of events throughout the year including Arts in the Square, Music in the Square, and the annual Christmas in the Square holiday light show (the largest choreographed lights and music show in North Texas).[22][23] The city hall also hosts a Music in the Chamber concert series in the city council chamber.[24]
Library
Frisco Public Library was housed in City Hall until March 2023, when the new library opened in a converted warehouse building. The new library is the sixth-largest in Texas and hosts a full-size Tyrannosaurus skeleton named Rexy.[25]
Sports
Frisco is home to several sporting venues, many major sports teams headquarters, and an NCAA Division I conference headquarters. In April 2011, Men's Journal named Frisco the Best Place to Raise an Athlete.[26]
The Ford Center at the Star is a 12,000-seat indoor stadium. The 91-acre Dallas Cowboys project "The Star" includes the team's headquarters and training facilities, including the Ford Center, where the Cowboys practice and Frisco ISD high school teams practice and play on a rotating basis. It is on Gaylord Parkway, one block west of the Dallas North Tollway.[27] Multiple professional teams have made their home at the Ford Center, including the Texas Revolution of Champions Indoor Football[28][29] and the Dallas Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
Riders Field, a 10,316-seat baseball stadium, hosted its first baseball game on April 3, 2003. BaseballParks.com named it the best new ballpark that year,[30] and it received the 2003 Texas Construction award for Best Architectural Design.[31]
Toyota Stadium, which opened in 2005 as "Pizza Hut Park", is a 20,500-seat stadium. It is primarily used as a soccer stadium by FC Dallas, but also hosts concerts and high school and college football games, including the NCAA Division I-AA (FCS) college football championship starting in 2010 and the NCAA Division I (FBS) Frisco Bowl starting in 2017.
The Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) moved their corporate headquarters to "The Star" in Frisco in time for the 2016 NFL football season; the complex opened in June 2016. Built-in partnership with Frisco ISD, which contributed $30 million to build the Ford Center at the Star in lieu of a dedicated third football stadium, Frisco ISD has held high school football games at the Ford Center since it opened.[32]
The Dallas StarsNational Hockey League team is headquartered in Frisco, and practices at the Comerica Center. The Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League had been based in Frisco since the fall of 2003, and shortly afterward the league moved its main offices to Frisco. In the 2013 off-season, the Texas Tornado relocated to North Richland Hills, Texas. The league relocated its offices in 2018.
FC Dallas (formerly the Dallas Burn), a Major League Soccer team, moved its home to Pizza Hut Park (now Toyota Stadium) near the corner of the Dallas North Tollway and Main Street in August 2005. A major international youth soccer tournament, the Dallas Cup, is hosted in Frisco each year and draws teams from around the world. The National Soccer Hall of Fame is co-located with Toyota Stadium.[35]
On November 16, 2017, Major League Lacrosse announced it would be moving the Rochester Rattlers franchise to The Ford Center at the Star in Frisco for the 2018 season as the Dallas Rattlers.[36] The Rattlers folded after the 2019 season.
The Southland Conference, an NCAA Division I athletics organization, relocated its headquarters to Frisco in 2006. On February 26, 2010, Pizza Hut Park (now Toyota Stadium) was announced as the host of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) championship game, formerly held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Huntington, West Virginia. The first matchup, hosted by the Southland Conference, was played January 7, 2011.[37]
Others
Frisco also has an Olympic-sized, state-of-the-art natatorium. The Frisco Baseball and Softball Association was established in 1984.[38] The Frisco Football League is an organized recreational league that allows children to play football before entering football in the school district.[39] The Flagfootball4fun Flag Football League (FF4FUN) is an organized recreational youth flag football league.[40] The sports entertainment conglomerate Dude Perfect is in Frisco.
Parks and recreation
The Frisco Athletic Center features 18,000 square feet (1,700 m2) of indoor aquatics elements and about 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) of outdoor aquatic features. It features exercise equipment, basketball courts, and group exercise classes.[41][42]
Frisco is a "home rule" city. Frisco voters adopted its initial "home rule" charter in 1987. Frisco residents have voted to amend the charter three times since 1987:
May 2002, approved 19 propositions
May 2010, approved 14 propositions
May 2019, approved 24 propositions
In May 2014, the Charter Review Commission recommended an additional 14 propositions, but these were never placed on the ballots.
Frisco has a council-manager government, which consists of a mayor, six city council members elected at-large, and a city manager. Council members' duties include enacting local legislation (ordinances), adopting budgets, determining policies, and appointing the city manager. The mayor and city council members each serve three year terms, with term limits of three terms. There have been only two city managers in Frisco history: George Purefoy, who served for over 34 years until his retirement in 2022, and his successor, Wes Pierson.[45]
According to the city's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $227.2 million in revenue, $184.4 million in expenditures, $1.647 billion in total assets, $753.1 million in total liabilities, and $159.3 million in cash and investments.[11]
The city of Frisco is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the purpose of which is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.
Mayors
Mayor
Start Year
End Year
Notes
Dr. I. S. Rogers
1908
1911
First elected mayor of city
E. D. Baccus
1911
1912
F. P. Shrader
1912
1916
E. D. Baccus
1916
1917
Previously served as mayor 1911–1912
F. P. Shrader
1917
1920
Previously served as mayor 1912–1916
Gus Stacy
1920
1921
Unclear why seat was vacated
R. W. Carpenter
1921
1922
F. P. Shrader
1922
1926
Previously served as mayor 1912–1916 and 1917–1920
F. H. Anderson
1926
1927
F. P. Shrader
1927
1930
Previously served as mayor 1912–1916, 1917–1920, and 1922–1926
Frisco ISD has 12 high schools 18 middle schools and 43 elementary schools, and 3 special programs centers.[48] Most Frisco ISD schools are within the Frisco city limits, but some are in adjacent suburbs, such as Plano. All Frisco high schools compete in UIL Class 5A, with the exception of Panther Creek High School, which competes in Class 4A.
The Frisco ISD Early Childhood School is available for children ages three and four who meet eligibility requirements for Headstart, Prekindergarten, or Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities.[49]
At the Frisco ISD Career and Technical Education Center, high school students can experience and try different careers, from veterinary work to advertising and graphic design.[50]
Higher education
The Texas Legislature designated Collin College as the community college for the municipality of Frisco as well as all of Collin County.[51] The Preston Ridge campus of the community college district opened on Wade Boulevard in Frisco in 1995. Amberton University has a local campus on Parkwood Boulevard north of Warren Parkway. In 2008, Frisco ISD opened the Career and Technology Education Center.
In 1978, the first season of Dallas was filmed at Frisco's Cloyce Box Ranch (now the Brinkmann Ranch), where the house on site was used as the Ewing family home. This house burned down during renovations in 1987, and the steel skeleton of the house still stands on today's Brinkmann Ranch, now the largest family-owned estate in Frisco.[53][54][55]
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