The Cowboys might have a knack for blowing important games at the last minute, but they’ve also got another unexpected talent for a football team: Namely, inflating home prices in the growing North Dallas suburb of Frisco.
Frisco essentially didn’t exist until fairly recently—the population in 1990 was a mere 6,138 people, according to Census data—but it’s blown up in big ways since: by 2000, it had reached over 33,000, and in 2010, it was nearly 117,000. (Current estimates put it at over 130,000 as of October 2013.) Those numbers, and the expected projections for the future, are certainly factors in Frisco’s home values soaring by $100,000 since October 2011. But also relevant is the fact that the Cowboys will be moving the team’s operations, including its corporate headquarters and training facilities, to the suburb in 2016. (They’ll continue playing their actual games at what’s currently being called AT&T Stadium in Arlington, of course.) A press release issued jointly by the team and the city in August explained the details:
In addition to becoming the home to the NFL team’s entire football operation, including administrative offices, coaches’ offices and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the complex will include a multipurpose, 12,000 seat, indoor stadium and two outdoor fields that will provide facilities for use by the Cowboys, City of Frisco and Frisco ISD football and soccer games and other sports, athletic, academic, fine arts and entertainment events.
Frisco is already home to the FC Dallas, the Dallas area’s representative in Major League Soccer. The Frisco RoughRiders, the AA-affiliate of the Texas Rangers, play in the city, as well as the NBA D-League’s Texas Legends, the Mavericks’ developmental squad. Retail growth is expected to boom along with the population in coming years, and it’s already got the Dallas-area IKEA.
All of this development has got some current Frisco residents dreaming dollar signs—though the question of how soon those dollar signs will materialize is being debated. At Frisco-Online.com an interesting three-page thread popped up shortly after the Cowboys deal became official, featuring a lot of differing opinions about what it’ll mean for the city. Housing markets, as the entire world learned a few years back, can be volatile, and there are three years before the Cowboys actually move operations to Frisco.
One thing’s for sure, though—as a suburb that saw yet another 10% population spike between 2010 and 2012, Frisco is probably only going to get bigger. Whether that’s because the offensive line of the Dallas Cowboys is buying houses remains to be seen.
(image via Flickr)
