Net Worth

Frisco Reaching Goal With New Soccer & Entertainment Center

by Rob Patterson

Frisco city planners and private partners desired a sports complex that would also have a positive economic impact on the surrounding area. The vision kicks off next month with the opening of the Frisco Soccer & Entertainment Center.

With an August opening planned for its new $65 million Frisco Soccer & Entertainment Center, the Dallas suburb will kick another scoring point toward the goal of becoming a North Texas sports center.

Sited on 144 acres adjacent to the North Dallas Tollway and north of the city's Entertainment and Sports Complex, the 20,000-seat multipurpose stadium with 17 adjoining soccer fields adds the Major League Soccer team, FC Dallas (formerly the Dallas Burn), to the team of other Frisco sports franchises including the Texas Ranchers' AA affiliate Minor League Baseball team the RoughRiders and the North American Hockey League team Texas Tornado.

Construction began in April 2004 under a guaranteed-maximum price contract. General contractor Lee Lewis Construction Co. of Lubbock had to complete the facility in time for the first game on August 6.

"Between June and November of last year we lost 63 days to weather, and it put us behind," said Gary Tanner, the firm's project manager.

After the excavation of 200,000 cu. yds. of material to create the 35-ft. deep bowl where the field sits, rainfall deposited 8 ft. of water inside it, covering the cab of a crane pouring some of the 30,000 cu. yds. of concrete for the sloped bleachers above either side of the soccer pitch.

"We had three 6-in. pumps that displaced 120,000 gallons an hour going 24 hours a day trying to get that thing emptied so we could work," Tanner said. Nearly 5 million gallons were pumped out.

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Once the stadium was dry, high-grade natural turf was laid atop 16 in. of gravel and sand fill. A 250,000-gallon concrete retention tank with lift pumps will guard against future flooding.

The below-grade design was important because of the nature of the game. "One of the reasons for going down into the ground was that soccer has no timeouts," said Gary Stockwell, project architect with Dallas-based HKS Inc. "The only opportunity for fans to get a break from the action is halftime."

So a concourse was created around the stadium with views down to the field and concession stands and restrooms that face the field, Stockwell said. The idea was for fans to be able to leave their seats while still being able to see the field and be part of the action.

"If you go up with a stadium, you have to go back underneath the seats to get to the concessions and you can't see what's going on," Stockwell added. "And dollarwise it's sometimes more economical to go down rather than up, depending on what you run into with your ground conditions."

Nearby development in the booming suburb also influenced the design. "The new town center across the street is a maximum of four-story buildings," he said. "So we fit in that same vocabulary."

On the stadium's west side is a three-story, 38,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse with 26 luxury suites on the second story and press boxes and game operations on level three. The structure is steel frame on concrete pad faced with window wall, plaster and concrete masonry unit topped by a steel roof. The private boxes will have a shaded balcony in front of them.

Two one-story concession buildings totaling 38,000 sq. ft. curve around the southwestern and southeastern sides of the bowl. They are built of CMU atop concrete slab with a skin of plaster and metal panels between split-face CMU columns and a steel roof. All of the structures will have standing-seam steel roofs.

"We used a lot of colored CMU and cement plaster because it fits with a vernacular that Frisco has," Stockwell said. "It has a bit of a Texas Hill Country theme."

The simple design and basic materials of the stadium buildings suit its usage pattern. "One thing is that you want is materials that are durable," Stockwell added. "And they have to be easy to basically lock the doors and walk away from."

Tanner said teamwork was important to come up with a building that was not only nice looking but practical. Luckily, HKS had previously worked with Tanner (then with Manhattan Construction Co.) on the Texas Rangers' Ameriquest Field in Arlington.

A 22,000-sq.-ft. concrete stage at the north end of the field was added in the planning stages to host concerts and other events. A structural-steel proscenium topped by a steel canopy will be used to fly lighting and sound gear.

On the east side of the stage is a 15,000-sq.-ft. underground reinforced-concrete truck bay that can accommodate five semis and/or tour buses. Above it will be a 21,000-sq.-ft. two-story structural steel frame office and commissary building.

An 8,000-sq.-ft. underground concrete tunnel on the northwestern end of the stadium gives players access to the field. Above it will be a 42,000-sq.-ft. steel-frame locker room and an office building above that (the final size and the number of levels of the structure are not yet finalized). Both buildings will have a skin of glass, split-face CMU and plaster and metal panels with a steel roof.

The ground on the site needed extensive work before the buildings could be erected.

"It's heavy clay with terrible swell potential," Tanner said. "We had to do moisture conditioning down to 10 ft. to maintain its firmness."

Lee Lewis is also installing irrigation systems, lighting, fencing and roadways as well as laying fill and turf for the 17 other soccer fields. A total of 150,000 sq. yds. of natural turf and 32,000 sq. yds. of synthetic turf on three other fields is being installed. Two retention ponds were built to control runoff and supplement the two wells dug for supplying water to the fields.

The job also includes paving 40 acres of parking for games and events.

Even on the large site, laydown space eventually became limited. "You'd think on a 100-plus acre site that wouldn't be a problem, but after the fields were laid down, it actually was," Tanner said.

The $65 million cost of the complex was financed by a consortium of local partners. Contributors include the city of Frisco, Colin County, Frisco Independent School District, the Frisco Economic Development Corp., the Frisco Community Development Corp. and Dallas-based Hunt Sports Group, which operates the FC Dallas soccer franchise.

"It's a great financial partnership having the school district involved," said Scott Young, Frisco assistant city manager. "Facility usage will be maximized by also hosting Frisco ISD soccer and football games, and it saves the district the cost of building its own sports stadium."

Hunt Sports Group will lease and manage the complex under an initial 20-year contract. A variety of soccer activities including training, local club games and national tournaments are planned for the complex.

"The Hunt Sports Group worked with the contractor and architect to produce a fantastic facility," said Billy Ray Johnson, vice president of construction management for Hunt Sports. "It definitely was a group effort."

The city is also supplementing the project with infrastructure improvements such as new roads around the complex. "It's going to be great for the area," Young said. "And it's going to generate a lot more business."