Frisco
Watch for:
- The two-story, 18,000-sq.ft. Heritage Museum opened. The facility has banquet halls available for private meetings and events.
- The first phase of the Sheraton Stonebriar Hotel is open with 119 rooms, 1,000 square feet of event space and on-site dining. Phase two, scheduled to open in 2010, will add 131 rooms, a rooftop pool and 26,000 square feet of meeting space.
- More than 1,000 guest rooms are under construction or are planned for the Frisco market.
- The Frisco Embassy Suites earned the AAA Four-Diamond Award. The Westin Stonebriar Resort won Westin’s North America Hotel of the Year award.
- The 120-room Holiday Inn Frisco StarCenter opened with 1,780 square feet of meeting space. Other new properties include a Homewood Suites.
- The Frisco CVB website got a new look that will make it easier for planners to navigate.
Want a sports-themed venue?
The Frisco RoughRiders play at the Dr Pepper Ballpark, which has business entertainment suites, a poolside party deck, and several other private seating/meeting areas for groups. Championship hockey team Texas Tornados plays at the Dr Pepper Star Center, which has meeting rooms, skate lessons, team-building programs and space for trade shows. The FC Dallas professional soccer team plays at Pizza Hut Park, which has 17 championship-quality soccer fields in addition to the stadium field available for tournaments and team-building programs. Its Verizon Wireless Club has in-house catering, 29 satellite-connected televisions, audio/visual equipment and private views of the stadium; patio seating for up to 250 is available at the park’s Dr Pepper Victory Center.
Want group dining?
Randy’s Steakhouse offers fine dining in a restored 1869 home; amenities include live entertainment, private dining rooms, hand-cut steaks, a piano lounge and an international wine list. Kotta Sushi Lounge serves fresh raw and cooked seafood in the Shops of Starwood complex. Also in the same development is Josephine’s Italian Bistro, which has a private wine room and patio dining, Bunco parties (great for spousal programs), live music and more than 40 wines by the glass. Terilli’s Restaurant and Jazz Bar has private dining for groups of up to 50 people, live music and an off-site catering department. The founder of La Hacienda Ranch invented the frozen margarita machine; the rustic Tex-Mex restaurant also caters off-site functions. The Abbey Texas Café on Main Street caters private banquets and presents murder mystery dinner theater from inside the former First Baptist Church of Frisco (est. 1902).
Want fun venues?
Dave & Buster’s has world-class billiards, shuffleboard, a state-of-the-art video arcade, and team-building programs as well as a full-service restaurant, dinner theater and meeting space. Strikz Entertainment Center has 32 bowling lanes, arcade games, laser tag, a karaoke stage, meeting space and a media room. GattiTown Pizza has 230 amusement park rides, team-building programs and party rooms for groups of up to 100 people.
Want to surround your group with culture?
The Texas Sculpture Garden is the largest private collection of Texas sculpture on display; 140 pieces are installed in the gardens and around the office park. Performing arts companies include the Frisco Community Theatre and Frisco Area Children’s Theatre.
