FRISCO, Texas — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here . FC Dallas President Dan Hunt took a moment by himself to reflect after Frisco City Council approved Sept.
17 a public financing deal and economic incentives package for his family's plan to renovate Toyota Stadium and make it the centerpiece of a massive mixed-use sports and entertainment district. For Hunt, the Major League Soccer team and its 19-year-old venue have a special place in his heart. Construction of Toyota Stadium marked the last project Hunt worked on with his father, Lamar Hunt, before the sports business visionary died in 2006.
Now, he sees the planned improvements and upcoming development around the stadium as building upon his father's legacy and vision for what soccer could eventually become in the United States. "I get emotional thinking about it because every day we were there working on [the stadium] — building, sitting through design meetings and now it's going to take that gigantic leap toward that hope that he had," Hunt said. "Back in 2006 before he passed away, there were a lot of life lessons taught, but one of the big things he said is, 'In 50 years, I believe MLS will rival the NFL.
' And by the way, that's about the time of our lease. "We're going to see how it goes, but I'm not going to bet against the guy who's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, National Soccer Hall of Fame and International T.