PGA of America’s move to Frisco motivated by incentives, location

FRISCO, Texas — If the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is a city bulging on steroids, the exurb of Frisco is an overly enthusiastic spotter egging on the beast, screaming loudly for one final rep.

In late August, city council members and officials from the city enjoyed a day most other municipality planners would dream of: the unveiling of a cutting-edge, multi-million dollar home of a national sports organization, one that will bring a dozen or more major events to town over the next decade. Celebrities stirred about the 100,000-square-feet facility, which includes practice bays, indoor putting greens, conference rooms, and a massive foyer/conference area.

Among those on hand at the event were Dallas Cowboys greats Tony Dorsett, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Drew Pearson, Billy Joe DuPree and the team’s owner, Jerry Jones, as well as LPGA Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth and former WNBA superstar Nancy Lieberman.

But for Frisco City Councilman Bill Woodard, while the ceremony was celebratory, it’s something he and fellow city officials have become comfortable with. Frisco — a once-sleepy prairie town that had a little more than 6,000 residents in 1990 but is now closing in on a quarter of a million — has used sports as a vehicle to distance itself from the numerous other small municipalities in the region, using unique public-private partnerships and massive incentives to lure teams. Or in this case, the PGA of America.

Although it seems to be working, it’s still a work in progress. Originally a train stop near a watering hole, Frisco’s humble beginnings have not kept its planners from thinking big. And when pro golfers are milling about town when the PGA Championship comes calling in 2027, they’ll have to fade into the background behind numerous other high-profile athletes.

The city is the home of the 12,000-seat Ford Center at the Star, a complex where the beloved Cowboys practice, and area high school football teams are often given access. The National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars practice at the Comerica Center, a 7,000-seat venue that is also the home of the G-League affiliate of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

There’s more. The 20,500-seat Toyota Stadium that houses FC Dallas, a member of Major League Soccer, has hosted of the Frisco Bowl since 2017, and the Division I FCS football championship game for a dozen years.

And the movement to sports really began back in 2003 when the Texas Rangers moved their Double-A affiliate into…