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Football championship benefits North Texas region
By Elizabeth Knighten, eknighten@acnpapers.com
While North Dakota State may be celebrating its win in the NCAA Division I Football Championship, cities in Collin County are still recovering from the economic spike of the Jan. 7 game.
This is the second year Frisco has held the championship game.
Tony Felker, president of the Frisco Chamber of Commerce said there were many "direct and indirect" benefits from hosting the game.
Frisco Mayor Maher Maso said the game is "an important economic driver" not only for the city, but for neighboring cities as well, as the event boosts hotel and restaurant sales.
One of the cities that benefitted was Plano, which saw a number of patrons stay at hotels in the city.
"The game had a substantial impact on the city," said Mark Thompson, the director of the Plano Convention and Visitors Bureau. "The North Dakota State fans completely took over the Marriott, which sold all of its 404 rooms."
Thompson said anytime Frisco holds a large event, the attendees spill over into Plano and stay at hotels and eat at restaurants in the city. He said the exact economic benefit is not known at this time, but three other hotels reported an increase in bookings.
The game also brought the city exposure to areas outside of the DFW Metroplex.
"We had the national audience on ESPN2 with the game," Felker said. "We got to promote Frisco as a sold-out venue from this match for this game to the entire country."
Felker speculated that it is difficult to estimate how many visitors came into the area; however, the venue, which holds 20,586 people, was sold out.
"I'm sure everybody has a different estimate, but I believe it was somewhere around 7-8,000 probably came out of town from North Dakota and probably comparable, 6-8,000 that came from Sam Houston [State]," Felker said.
Maso said the true "strength" of the event was through the city's partnership with restaurants, hotels and neighboring cities.
"It was a good opportunity for us, not just to have the game but also show everything our community has to offer, and that's because of our partners," Maso said.
In an email, Marla Roe, executive director for the Frisco Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the CVB was in contact with the mall and city restaurants which reported an increase in sales; however, the exact numbers will not come in until March.
"We see the results all of the time, though, when large groups are in town -- particularly those you can identify -- eating in our restaurants, shopping, going to grocery stores and more," Roe said.
Felker said some pop rallies, which were held throughout the city at hotels, had to be moved to Plano because there was not enough space for all of them.
While the numbers have yet to be gathered, the game could bring a large financial surplus to the city.
"Estimation last year was over $1 million in economic impact," Roe said. "I would not be surprised if we doubled those numbers this year based on hotel sellouts and the game being sold out, and the amount of alumni activity at various venues."
The city will also host the 2013 championship game, and will travel to Indianapolis in February to try and get the length of the contract extended. Thompson said he has told his counterparts in Frisco that Plano is behind the event and will help in any way possible during the bidding process to ensure the event remains in Frisco.
Maso said he would like to see the game held in the city "permanently."
"I think Frisco can be the home for this game for the long term," said Maso. "I think the North Texas area will heavily support it, we will welcome the visiting teams and the NCAA, and I think we've proven it."
Staff writer Bill Conrad contributed to this report.
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