REGIONAL
Universal Parks and Resorts to open new theme park in Frisco BY COLBY FARR, SHELBIE HAMILTON & GRANT JOHNSON
will be roughly a quarter of the size of Universal’s Orlando, Florida, theme park, which is a scale “appro- priate for [a] young family audience,” Thompson said. “It’s big enough that everyone will have a great time but not so big that children get exhausted by the end of the day,” Thompson said. Drawn to Frisco Universal began working on this concept a year ago and considered locations around the world, Thomp- son said. The company chose North Texas due to the region’s growth, and it expects the park will draw locals and travelers from surrounding states, Thompson said. “We picked Frisco just because it’s such a dynamic, exciting, fast-grow- ing environment with a really strong base of families here in the area,” Thompson said. Frisco Mayor Je Cheney agreed that the city is a good t for this kind of project. “All of you can see why they chose Frisco. Frisco is known for being family-friendly. It’s known for being innovative, being rst in leaders in everything,” Cheney said. The target audience of young children is a new concept for the company. Other Universal theme parks feature “thrilling experiences” that do not cater to young children, Thompson said. Recent additions
Universal Resorts announced Jan. 11 a new theme park to be located along the Dallas North Toll- way in Frisco. Parks and The development, named Universal Kids Frisco, is a regional park concept aimed at children ages 3-9, according to Universal Parks and Resorts o - cials. The park will have a 300-room themed hotel at the front along with four or ve themed areas, according to Mark Woodbury, Universal Parks and Resorts chair and CEO. “Each one of [the park areas is] full of attractions, interactive experiences, discovery experiences, exploration, learning opportunities and just a rich, rich experience for families to enjoy together,” Woodbury said. Park details Universal Parks and Resorts selected Frisco for this new concept because of the city’s growing popula- tion and ability to attract businesses to the area. The park is intended to be a one- to two-day experience designed for families in Frisco and the surrounding areas, Woodbury said. The park will be located on 97 acres of land in the Fields development at the northeast corner of Dallas North Tollway and Panther Creek Parkway. To compare, The Star District in Frisco sits on 91 acres. The proposed theme
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Universal Parks and Resorts is bringing its rst theme park tailored speci cally for children to Frisco. The new park concept will feature immersive-themed lands. (Rendering courtesy Universal Parks and Resorts)
adds to our growing family-friendly environment and very playful atmo- sphere that’s welcoming for all fami- lies with younger kids,” Powers said. A theme park was not in the origi- nal plan for the Fields land, said Fields master developer Fehmi Karahan, president and CEO of The Karahan Companies. But creating a space for families was always among the proj- ect’s goals, he said. “This really ts to the overall vision of Fields,” Karahan said. “It’s abso- lutely a wonderful addition. It will bring more families and makes this area a super regional hub for every- thing. ... I couldn’t be more excited.” Universal Kids Frisco will not change any other areas of the 2,500- acre Fields project, which involves several residential developments called villages, a Legacy West-style shopping center, hotels and commer- cial uses, Karahan said. Despite the expected in ux of traf- c, Karahan said he was con dent this project would be a good t. A theme park will help attract the nationwide and global headquarters he envisioned for the project as well as continue to draw people to move to the Fields villages, Karahan said. Compared to other potential developments—such as a Costco or Walmart, or even a cor- porate headquarters—where cars are coming and going at all times of the day, a theme park’s tra c is more
manageable, he said. “A Universal-type of place has a more controlled type of tra c,” Kara- han said. “You go at certain hours; you spend all day there; you’re not in and out like you would be at major stores.” Karahan is also the master devel- oper of Legacy West in Plano, and he said that development generates more tra c than the Universal park would. However, Universal Kids Frisco will still create a destination atmosphere. “[Universal] could have gone any- where in the world, and they focused on North Texas, ... and they decided on Fields Frisco, which makes a huge statement,” Karahan said. “It’s an incredible success story.” Woodbury said the company intends to become an “employer of choice” by creating jobs and opportunities through the planned development. The brand is also focused on community involve- ment, Woodbury said. “Frisco is built on great partnerships, and this project wouldn’t be happening without great partnerships here in this community,” Cheney said, referring to the partnership between Universal and the Fields development team. Additional reporting by Miranda Jaimes
park is several years out from opening, but when it does it will only use about a third of the land purchased, leav- ing room for future expansions and keeping the park
to other Univer- sal theme parks aimed toward that demographic, such as attractions for movies that include “Shrek,” “Trolls” and “Minions,” created the oppor-
“WE PICKED FRISCO JUST BECAUSE IT’S SUCH A DYNAMIC, EXCITING, FAST GROWING ENVIRONMENT ...” PAGE THOMPSON, PRESIDENT OF NEW VENTURES FOR UNIVERSAL
“manageable” for young children, said Page Thompson, president of new ven- tures for Universal. “That gives us plenty of room to build a park, this themed hotel fea- turing Universal characters, parking areas and still have lots of room for a really lush landscape bu er as well as lots of space for a thoughtful exit and entrance plan,” Thompson said. This new regional park concept
tunity to design a park aimed at a younger audience, Thompson said. The project’s tourism potential could also increase the city’s tax base, Cheney said in Universal’s news release. As the o cial destination marketing organiza- tion for the city, Visit Frisco hopes the project will shine a spotlight on Frisco, Director of Marketing and Communica- tions Cori Powers said. “I think [the development] just
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