Frisco, Texas

History

When the Dallas area was being settled by American pioneers, many of the settlers traveled by wagon trains along the old Shawnee Trail. This trail was also used for cattle drives north from Austin. This trail later became the Preston Trail, and later, Preston Road. Preston Road is one of the oldest north-south roads in all of Texas. With all of this activity, the community of Lebanon was founded along this trail and granted a U.S. post office in 1860. In 1902, a line of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway 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 the Preston Ridge and was thus too high in elevation, so the watering stop was placed about four miles (6 km) to the west on lower ground. A community grew around this train stop. Residents of Lebanon actually moved their houses to the new community on logs. The new town was originally named Emerson, but the U.S. Postal Service rejected the name as being too similar to another town in Texas. In 1904, the residents chose Frisco City in honor of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway on which the town was founded, later shortened to its present name. Another name, usually referred to only by the children of the land, is "F-TOWN".

Geography

Frisco is in western Collin County and eastern Denton County at 33°08′29″N 96°48′47″W (33.141263, -96.813120).

Climate

Frisco is part of the humid subtropical region. It gets 39 inches of rain per year. On average, there are 230 sunny days per year in the city. The July high is around 96 degrees. The January low is 33 degrees. The comfort index, which is based on humidity during the hot months, is a 25 out of 100, where higher is more comfortable.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.4 square miles (161.6 km²), of which 61.8 square miles (160.1 km²) is land and 0.58 square miles (1.5 km²), or 0.92%, is water.

Major highways

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 116,989 people living in Frisco, up from the previous census in 2000, with 33,714 people. The racial makeup was 75.0% White (67.2% Non-Hispanic White), 8.1% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian or Alaska Native, 10.0% Asian, 3.3% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.1% of the population.

In 2000, there were 12,065 households, and 9,652 families residing in the city. The population density was 482.4 people per square mile (186.3/km²). There were 13,683 housing units at an average density of 195.8 per square mile (75.6/km²).

By 2010, there were 42,306 housing units, 39,901 households, and 31,226 families. 62% were on the Collin County side and 38% in Denton County.

67% of households were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.7% were non-families. 17.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.35. 51.7% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them.

The age distribution is 33.3% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 13.9% from 25 to 34, 22.5% from 35 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.9 years.

According to a 2010 American Community Survey estimate, 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 in Frisco is $500,000, with many homes costing millions. Frisco has become one of the most sought after upscale suburbs in North Texas.

As of 2014, Frisco, Texas is the 2nd fastest growing city in U.S. at 6.5% annually.

Population estimate

Economy

Like many Dallas suburbs, Frisco is accumulating many retail properties, including Stonebriar Centre (opened August 2000), a 165-store regional mall, and IKEA (opened 2005), a furniture store with an area of 28,800 square meters (310,000 sq ft). Retail establishments and restaurant chains line Preston Road, which is one of the major north-south-running traffic arteries in the city.

Frisco took a different economic track than many surrounding cities and elected to use a fractional percent of local sales tax to fund the Frisco Economic Development Corporation (FEDC) rather than 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 also built Frisco Square, a mixed-use development which became the new downtown. 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 and main library and a public commons. A Cinemark theater opened in December 2010. In 2012, a hospital, Medical City Plano - Frisco, was built north of the theater.

Corporate presence

According to the city's 2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Local government

Frisco is a "home rule" city. Frisco voters adopted its initial "home rule" charter in 1987. Frisco residents have voted to amend the Charter two times since 1987:

* In May 2014, the Charter Review Commission recommended an additional 14 propositions, however these have not yet been put to a vote by residents.

The form of government adopted by Frisco is the council-manager, which consists of a mayor and 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 and City Secretary.

According to the city's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $227.2 million in revenues, $184.4 million in expenditures, $1,647.0 million in total assets, $753.1 million in total liabilities, and $159.3 million in cash and investments.

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:

The city of Frisco is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments association, the purpose of which is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.

Primary and secondary

Most of Frisco is within the Frisco Independent School District (Frisco ISD). Some parts extend into Lewisville Independent School District, Little Elm Independent School District, and Prosper Independent School District.

Frisco ISD has nine high schools, sixteen middle schools and forty elementary schools. All Frisco high schools compete in 5A because of the addition of 6A schools to Texas.

The 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.

Frisco also has the Frisco ISD Career & Technical Education Center(CTE or CaTE Center), a building in which students from high schools can experience and try different careers, from veterinary work to advertising, and graphic design.

Higher

Collin College, the Preston Ridge campus of the community college district, opened on Wade Boulevard in Frisco in August 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.

The University of Dallas has moved its Carrollton campus to Frisco.

UT Arlington has a professional MBA campus in Frisco.

University of North Texas core MBA courses can be taken at the Frisco campus.

Recreation

Frisco has built the Frisco Athletic Center that 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. Some area residents refer to this as the "Rec Center" or "F.A.C." It features upscale exercise equipment, as well as group exercise classes.

Sports

Frisco is home to several sporting venues, a NCAA Division I conference headquarters, a NHL hockey team headquarters, a Major League Soccer team, a junior ice hockey league headquarters, a Minor League baseball team, and an NBA D-league team. The Dallas Cowboys moved their headquarters to Frisco in 2016.

Venues

Frisco is home to a variety of sporting venues. The Dr Pepper Ballpark, a 10,600-seat baseball stadium, hosted its first baseball game on April 3, 2003. It was named the best new ballpark that year by BaseballParks.com, and received the 2003 Texas Construction award for Best Architectural Design. Toyota Stadium, which was opened August 6, 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, local high school football games and college games, specifically the I-AA (FCS) football championship starting in 2010. The Dr Pepper Arena, a combination hockey and basketball venue, is the home of the Texas Legends of the NBA G League, the North American Hockey League headquarters, and a practice facility for the Dallas Stars of the NHL.

NFL

The Dallas Cowboys moved their corporate headquarters to Frisco in time for the 2016 NFL football season, the complex opened in June 2016. The 91-acre Dallas Cowboys project "The Star" includes the team's new headquarters and training facilities. One of which is Ford Stadium, where FISD High Schools and the Dallas Cowboys practice and occasionally play. It is on the corner of the N. Dallas Tollway and Warren Parkway.

Soccer

FC Dallas (formerly the Dallas Burn), a Major League Soccer team, who formerly played at Dallas' Cotton Bowl, moved their home to Pizza Hut Park (now Toyota Stadium) at the corner of the Dallas North Tollway and Main Street in Frisco 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.

NCAA

The Southland Conference, an NCAA Division I athletics organization, relocated its headquarters to Frisco in 2006. On February 26, 2010, it was announced Pizza Hut Park (now called Toyota Stadium) in Frisco would become the host of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division 1-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.

Baseball

The Texas League AA minor league baseball team Frisco RoughRiders, a minor league affiliate of the Texas Rangers, play in Frisco at the award-winning Dr Pepper Ballpark.

Hockey

The Dallas Stars NHL team is headquartered in Frisco, and the team practices at the Dr Pepper Arena there. The Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League had been based in Frisco since the fall of 2003, and shortly afterward the NAHL moved its main offices to Frisco. In the 2013 off-season, the Texas Tornado relocated to North Richland Hills, Texas.

Basketball

The Texas Legends, affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks, play in the NBA G League. They play at Dr. Pepper Arena.

High school sports

All Frisco Independent School District's high schools have Academic Decathlon, football, basketball, baseball, soccer, softball, volleyball, track and cross-country, swimming, golf, power-lifting, tennis and wrestling programs available for student athletes.

Others

Frisco is home of the Superdrome, an outdoor velodrome. Frisco also has an Olympic-size state-of-the-art natatorium. The Frisco Baseball & Softball Association (FBSA) has been in action since its establishment in 1984. The Frisco Football League (FFL) is an organized recreational league that allows children to play football before entering football in the school district. The Flagfootball4fun Flag Football League (FF4FUN) is an organized recreational youth flag football league that is the largest NFL flag football program in Frisco.

Notable people