In Frisco, 3 Post-Season College Football Games Add Up To 1 Economic Win For North Texas Businesses
FRISCO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The city of Frisco is playing host to three post-season college football games this year.
City leaders and business owners say the games add up to an economic win for not only the city, but the North Texas region.
The first game, the Frisco Bowl, took place Tuesday.
San Diego State defeated the University of Texas, San Antonio 38-24.
The second game, the Frisco Football Classic Bowl, happened Thursday.
But whether the Mean Green of the University of North Texas or the Miami of Ohio Redhawks, no matter who won the game, area businesses such as the Frisco Diner are also scoring with fans who are traveling for the two bowl games and the FCS Division One Championship Game January 8 also being played at Toyota Stadium.
Afrim Seferi owns the Frisco Diner. "We're going on six years now and it's been continuous. Any type of events are happening there's more people in the area from all over the place, even locally. So it works out well for everybody."
Betty Blackwell traveled from Oklahoma to cheer-on the Mean Green and said she was excited to hear her team was playing in Frisco. "That was wonderful. It's an easy drive. Love the area, it's a great area."
Maddie Bland, who graduated from Miami, flew-in from Ohio. "The weather's beautiful, much better than being in Ohio."
Bland and her dad Greg and their friend Susan Oaks were set to meet at the Green Gator restaurant with other alumni traveling to Frisco from other parts of Texas. "All of the fans and families and stuff are meeting before the game, so all to eat together and hang out."
Visit Frisco estimates the economic impact from the three post-season football games to be $15.5 million dollars.
As many as 45,000 fans may attend the games.
Of the 3,753 hotel rooms in Frisco, 80 percent are typically occupied for the games.
Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney said the city enjoys the exposure the nationally-televised games provide. "We do name ourselves 'Sports City USA' for a reason. Sports is a big part of our economy."
Cheney said Thursday's bowl game came together at the last minute when the NCAA realized late last month that more teams qualified for a bowl game. "Even during COVID-19, we became known as the go-to city when you needed to stand-up an event really quickly, and that's when they made the call to Frisco, when they needed an extra bowl game and we want to continue to have those conversations."
While the Frisco Football Classic Bowl game is just for this year, he's hoping the NCAA will continue to schedule more games here.
Not just football, but other sports as well.