Texas Leads Rollout for $10M SportsTech Concept

The 120,000-sf project will rise on a 10.5-acre tract near Frisco's new Burn Stadium. Brad Cook, president of BWC Properties, tells GlobeSt.com that up to eight complexes are being eyed for Dallas/Fort Worth and as many as 75 outside the state line for the corporate portfolio while franchises will be available to widen the reach.

The three-level complex, set to open in spring 2005, will contain two full-size soccer arenas, 10 full-size basketball and volleyball courts, arena-style seating, concession stands, restaurants, locker rooms, Internet workstations with wireless capabilities and high-tech components like plasma scoreboards. The space also accommodates lacrosse, futsol and football competitions.

BWC Properties designed the complex along with Hudson Engineering of Arlington. Cook says the plans are 90% complete, the zoning's in place and he's now waiting on the city to build out streets around the new stadium before turning his general contractor, Bridgewood Construction Co. of Dallas, loose on the SportsTech site. The street work is scheduled to begin before the first quarter ends. Cook also will shift BWC Properties' headquarters from Carrollton to Frisco to a 15,000-sf office building, which will break ground in the coming weeks on the SportsTech tract.

SportsTech will be marketed to amateur teams, with talks already under way to land tournaments sponsored by several national organizations. Cook is looking to hook tournaments of all sizes for all ages in soccer, volleyball and basketball.

Funded by Dallas/Fort Worth investors, the concept takes indoor sports facilities to the next level with a patent-pending SportsPilot information technology for real-time stats, shot charts, player pictures, team Web sites and game video. "They will feel like each court is at the American Airlines Center from the environment that they'll have on the playing surface," Cook says of a concept aimed at making hometown team players feel like major league stars.