Thriving sports community The Plano Parks and Recreation Department oversees a variety of competition-quality athletic fields for sports leagues, tournaments, camps and more. Visit Plano officials said these fields regularly draw tourists for weekend tournaments and games.
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Lighting poles for night activities
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Hoblitzelle Park Horseshoe Park Jack Carter Park
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Archgate Park Carpenter Park Cheyenne Park Enfield Park Frito Lay Pepsi Youth Ballpark Heritage Yards at Plano High Point Athletic Fields Plano International Festival
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McCreary Sports Fields Old Shepard Place Park Preston Meadow Park Russell Creek Park Schell Park
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SOURCE: CITY OF PLANO/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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feature around 30 balloons with some in special shapes as well as food and merchandise vendors providing items ranging from turkey legs and funnel cakes to jewelry and cowboy hats. In addition to overnight visitors, Thompson said the balloon and inter- national festivals also draw day visitors within a 50-mile radius of Plano. “They may buy some gasoline here, go to a grocery store while they’re here, and go to one or two restaurants and then turn around and go home,” he said. “They do have an economic impact on the community, but they’re not being counted in that occupancy tax because they’re not renting a hotel room.” These festivals also provide organi- zations the chance to meet attendees. Local nonprofits can provide a service or offer volunteers, Via said. Organiza- tions that wish to showcase products or services can invest in the event by purchasing booth space. “They are there to showcase their agency and to capture some of the
symphony as we have if it weren’t for visitors or as nice of a downtown area? We need those visitors to come in to see the balloon festival,” Thompson said. Since the balloon festival spans four days, Thompson said it will bring in overnight visitors such as the pilots and devotees who want to be there for the daily lighting and liftoff of the balloons. Plano Balloon Festival After flooding washed out the event in 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic canceled it in 2020 and 2021, this year’s H-E-B/Central Market Plano Balloon Festival on Sept. 22-25 at Oak Point Park will be the second time the event has been held since 2017. “This is a signature event for the city and our area,” festival Executive Direc- tor Jo Via said. “The only event that’s really larger than this … is the state fair, and so it was hard not to do it [in those years]. But it was also the right decision to be made at the time.” Via said this year’s festival will
[event’s] revenue, which is a percent of what we provide,” Via said. Plano International Festival Volunteers with local nonprofit Plano International Festival Corp. are estimated to spend around 3,400 hours each year to put on the multi- cultural festival, which began in 2006. This year’s free event Oct. 15 is slated to begin with an outdoor naturalization ceremony led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Festival Presi- dent Graciela Katzer said. “It’s a very moving part of the festi- val because it will be 50-75 new candi- dates that will become new [American] citizens that represent many different countries,” Katzer said. The festival will also offer attend- ees the opportunity to take in fashion shows, artistic performances, taste food and more attractions from around the world. The event will feature a Wellness Fair and Fitzone, which will offer free flu shots, stress exercises for children, eye exams and more.
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went from more than $11 million in fis- cal year 2018-19 to less than $7 million in FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21. Collec- tions for FY 2021-22 are expected to surpass $10 million, he said, and FY 2022-23 is projected to see more than $12 million collected. Visit Plano, the official destination management and marketing orga- nization for the city, is completely funded through hotel occupancy tax collections, Thompson said. Hotel tax revenue also helps fund the city’s convention center, the cultural arts program, the historic preservation pro- gram and special events such as the balloon festival. “The hotel occupancy tax helps a lot of areas in the city,” he said. “The arts get about $1 million, and historic pres- ervation gets about $800,000 of that [hotel occupancy tax].” Thompson said Visit Plano’s ultimate goal is for tourism-generated revenue to take the pressure off of taxpayers. “Would Plano have as nice of a
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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