FC Dallas Hotel Development: The Untold Story of a $1 Billion District
FC Dallas hotel development gets up to $5 million in Frisco tax grants for a 290 room hotel and mixed use district east of Toyota Stadium.
RUKAIYA KADIWAL 
In the rendering, a hotel tower rises beside a glowing plaza, with stadium seating curving in at the lower left. Night lights trace the streets around it. The FC Dallas hotel development is still a plan on paper. This week, though, the city of Frisco gave it real financial backing.
A Council Vote on Tuesday Night
Frisco City Council approved up to $5 million in tax grants for a planned high end hotel. A Chapter 380 economic development agreement passed with it at Tuesday's meeting. This Frisco hotel tax grant supports one piece of a $1 billion investment in the FC Dallas stadium and its surroundings. The hotel comes from Dallas' Hunt family and its development partners.
How the $5 Million Hotel Incentive Works
Under the agreement, the city will give the developer 50% of hotel occupancy tax revenues. That arrangement runs for 10 years, or until the grant reaches $5 million. Frisco will also waive 50% of its development fees for the project. The $5 million hotel incentive is therefore a ceiling, and its final size depends on hotel tax revenue.
The partners also plan to seek state approval under the Texas Qualified Hotel Project program. It lets municipalities offer 10 year state sales, use and hotel occupancy tax rebates for convention center headquarters hotels. No state decision has been reported.
The Partners Behind the Project
FC Dallas President Dan Hunt told The Dallas Morning News that Hunt Sports Development is working with two partners. They are Peak Curated Development and Venu Holding Corp. Together they plan a mixed use district on the east side of the stadium and soccer center. That Frisco mixed use development is anchored by the hotel. Groundbreaking is expected next year.
What the FC Dallas Hotel Development Includes
The first phase centers on a nine story hotel. This 290 room hotel in Frisco will sit beside more than 40,000 square feet of convention and event space. Amenities will include a full service restaurant and bar, a rooftop bar and lounge, a fitness center and a spa. As the anchor of the district, the FC Dallas district hotel carries much of the project's weight.
Branding is not settled. Hunt said negotiations are ongoing. The hotel could open as early as 2029. The report names no brand, no room rates and no construction cost for the hotel itself.
A Larger District Taking Shape
The east side project joins an office campus planned for the stadium's west side. That multiphase campus covers more than 1 million square feet and was announced last year. It is a partnership between the Hunts and Cawley Partners. Cawley's CEO, Bill Cawley, also plays a major role in the Dallas Stars' planned $1.3 billion arena district in Plano.
Add more than $200 million in stadium improvements, and Hunt puts total investment well over $1 billion. That figure is his own estimate, and the report offers no independent check. Seen together, the pieces make a large example of Frisco real estate development around a single stadium. They also frame the Toyota Stadium hotel project as one part of a bigger plan.
A Long View From the Founder's Son
Hunt looked back on the early days in a previous interview. “We were incredibly early when we built the stadium in the fields here,” he said. The remark matters because it shows how long the family has waited for the land around the stadium to fill in.
His father, Lamar Hunt, was a visionary, he said. In his telling, the elder Hunt believed the site would one day become the center of the Metroplex. Hunt thinks his father will be proved right.
What the Report Leaves Open
For readers tracking Texas hotel development, this is one deal in one city. The report gives no statewide data. It also offers no forecast for jobs, guests or tax revenue. The opening year is a possibility, not a promise.
More about the club is available on the FC Dallas official website. For another story about hotels and new building plans, see this story on Italy branded residences.
The FC Dallas hotel development now has public money behind it, but no brand, no rates and no firm date. Fields that once held a lone stadium are filling with towers, offices and plans. In the end, the vision will be measured less by grants than by how many people choose to stay.
