Frisco, Texas
Frisco is a city in
Collin County and
Denton County,
Texas (
USA). It is a northern suburb of
Dallas. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 33,714, while
2005 estimates place the population over 75,000. Frisco has been and continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in the
United States. In the late
1990s, the
North Dallas development tide hit the northern border of
Plano and spilled into Frisco, sparking explosive growth into the
2000s. With the amount of land available within the city limits, Frisco will likely reach an ultimate population of over 250,000 as Plano has.
When the Dallas area was being settled, 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. With all of this activity, the community of Lebanon was founded along this trail and granted a US post office in 1860. In
1902, a line of the
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway was being built through the area, and periodic watering holes were needed along the rails for the steam engines. The current settlement of Lebanon was on the Preston Ridge and was thus too high in elevation, so the watering hole was placed about four miles 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 that name was rejected by the US Postal Service 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.
Frisco is located at (33.141263, -96.813120).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 181.4
km² (70.0
mi²). 181.0 km² (69.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.23%) is water.
Frisco is a "
Home Rule" city. Frisco voters adopted its initial "Home Rule" Charter in 1987. In May 2002, Frisco residents voted to revise the Charter and approved 19 propositions.
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.
The city's mayor is Mike Simpson.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 33,714 people, 12,065 households, and 9,652 families residing in the city. The
population density was 186.3/km² (482.4/mi²). There were 13,683 housing units at an average density of 75.6/km² (195.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.25%
White, 3.76%
African American, 0.38%
Native American, 2.35%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 4.34% from
other races, and 1.89% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 11.02% of the population.
There were 12,065 households out of which 46.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.3% were
married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.13.
The age distribution is 30.7% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 45.9% from 25 to 44, 14.5% from 45 to 64, and 3.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $79,149, and the median income for a family was $84,150. Males had a median income of $58,620 versus $37,440 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $34,089. About 2.2% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.
The city population as of May 2006 is thought to be as much as 83,000 people.
Like many Dallas suburbs, Frisco is accumulating a tremendous number of retail properties, including Stonebriar Centre, a 165 store
regional mall, and an
IKEA store with an area of 28,800 square metres (310,000 ft²). 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 tack 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 FEDC funds have been used to provide incentives to businesses to locate in Frisco, thus boosting the tax base of the city to more than just retail and residential sources. As a result, Frisco has also become the home for a trio of sports franchises including
FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, the
Frisco RoughRiders, a Texas League AA affiliate of the Major League Baseball
Texas Rangers, and the Junior A hockey team the
Texas Tornado. Frisco is also the home office and training facility for the National Hockey League
Dallas Stars.
Frisco also plans to build Frisco Square, a mixed used development that will be the new downtown. The Square will have over 550,000 sq. ft of retail, living, and municipal space.Frisco has strict codes for property development.
Primary and Secondary
Most of Frisco is a part of the
Frisco Independent School District. Some parts extend into
Lewisville Independent School District,
Little Elm Independent School District, and
Prosper Independent School District. Frisco ISD currently has two high schools:
Frisco Centennial High School (Titans) and
Frisco High School (Raccoons). A third and fourth, Liberty (Redhawks) and Wakeland High (Wolverines) Schools, are opening for the 2006-2007 school year. Both will be 3A schools for the first two years they will be open. By 2008, the number of students should qualify both as 4A. Frisco ISD has the stated intention of keeping all high schools at a class 4A level to maximize student participation in school activities.
Higher
The Preston Ridge campus of the
Collin County Community College District opened on Wade Boulevard in Frisco in August of 1995.
The
Texas League AA
minor league baseball team
Frisco RoughRiders plays in Frisco at the award-winning Dr Pepper/7Up Ballpark. The
Dallas Stars National Hockey League is headquartered in Frisco and the team practices at the arena there. The
Texas Tornado of the
North American Hockey League have been based in Frisco since the fall of 2003, and shortly after the NAHL moved its main offices to Frisco.
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 in Frisco in August 2005. Frisco will also be home to an
Intense Football League team for the 2006 season. A major international youth soccer tournament, The Dallas Cup, is hosted in Frisco each year and draws teams from around the world. Frisco is also home of the Superdrome, one of the top outdoor velodromes in the nation.
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Official City Website*
Official Frisco ISD Website*
Frisco Daily blog - blog updated daily with Frisco news and events
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Frisco Online - website with popular Frisco discussion board.
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Frisco Station - Frisco news and information website
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Heritage Association of Frisco*
Pizza Hut Park a multi-purpose facility featuring a 20,000 seat stadium, coupled with seventeen regulation-size soccer fields.
