Sources: Frisco to develop park bigger than Dallas' Fair Park

Sources say the land being negotiated for Frisco's planned 300-acre park sits at the northwest corner of Eldorado Parkway and Preston Road.

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The city of Frisco has roughly 300 acres of prime developable land alongside Panther Creek on Brinkmann Ranch under contract, with plans to build a city park with sports fields that, if developed, would be bigger than Dallas' Fair Park. Show Full Story

Officials with the city are expected to close on a tract at the northwest corner of Eldorado Parkway and Preston Road on Feb. 5, multiple sources say.

By luring the Dallas Cowboys' world headquarters and practice facility and recently landing a Major League Lacrosse team, sources say Frisco is branding itself a premier city in North Texas to raise a young athlete. The park is expected to feed into that directive with various sports fields that have the ability to attract major youth sporting events.

Mayor Jeff Cheney declined to comment on the would-be deal, but said parks are an important part of Frisco's future.

"I've always said I want Frisco to have the best park system in the entire country," Cheney told the Dallas Business Journal.

The Brinkmann Ranch tract is owned by North Texas businessman Baxter Brinkmann.

Real estate sources say the acreage is expected to sell at market rate, which for land zoned for single-family homes is above $4 per square foot.

If Frisco buys 300 acres at that market rate, the city's tab for the park land would be more than $52 million.

As North Texas continues to add rooftops and residents to its ranks, parks have become an important part of communities' development strategies. In Dallas, city leaders are working to develop and program four parks within the central business district for residents.

The parks have become increasingly a part of North Texas city planning ever since Klyde Warren Park was developed over Woodall Rodgers Freeway, connecting downtown Dallas to Uptown, and creating a boon for adjacent property owners.

But even Klyde Warren Park, measuring in at 5.2 acres, would be massively dwarfed by this proposed park in Frisco.

The construction plans and details of the Frisco park's programming were not immediately available on Wednesday.