We Have New Details on Frisco’s Universal Park, And No, It Has More Than One Toll Road Entrance

The planning and zoning phase of Frisco’s new Universal Studios kiddie theme park is complete, revealing some more details about what the park could look like when it opens. Some residents, however, aren’t looking forward to that day.

Frisco’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday approved the special use permit for the Universal theme park on 97 acres of land at the northeast corner of Dallas North Tollway and Panther Creek Parkway. The approval package grants $12.7 million in “performance-based economic incentives” based on sales tax revenue collected from the new park, according to City Council records.

The city of Frisco unveiled some new plans for the proposed park. Jonathan Hubbard, a planning and zoning manager for Frisco, told the commission that the park would be designed for children ages 3–11 in a “lush, green landscape.”

The plan didn’t name as specific types of attractions, but it did note that none of the rides would require the standard “48 inches or higher” rule and would not be constructed higher than 100 feet, according to city records.

A 30-acre section of the park will house a 300-room hotel, with space to expand to 600 rooms if needed. The lot will also house more than 4,300 parking spaces for guests and employees, accessible through and out to neighboring roads, with seven driveways from Fields Parkway, Frisco Street and Panther Creek Parkway. Social media posts claiming that the park could be accessed only through the toll road turned out to be false. The only driveway close to a toll road that connects to the park would be Dallas Parkway, and it’s only going to be used for outbound traffic, according to the zoning plans.

The city also plans to expand some of the sidewalks and roads around the park to accommodate the increase in visitors. City transportation planning manager Joel Fitts told the commission that the plan is  to expand Panther Creek Parkway to a six-lane road that extends to Preston Road and to extend Frisco Street to connect with the toll road.

“We’re very proud of what we bring before you,” said John McReynolds, Universal’s senior vice president of external affairs, on Tuesday. “We think it is the right fit. From every aspect, we think it is something the city of Frisco will be proud of.”

Some residents don’t feel as excited to have a theme park in their backyard. Several residents took to the podium during the commission meeting’s public forum to urge members to vote against the permit for Universal, citing concerns about a potential increase in crime.

“The approval of this SUP will undoubtedly alter our way of life and it will leave us with limited means of changing the situation,” said resident Donna Black.

“No one ever thought when they bought a house there that the land behind them would be a theme park,” said resident Emily Rotenberg.

Universal and the city of Frisco made the announcement of the theme park’s newest location outside of Florida and California back in January. Several residents of Frisco and neighboring cities expressed their disapproval of the project not long after, prompting Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson to offer the empty Hensley Field as a space for Universal’s kid-friendly theme park on Twitter.

The city of Dallas enacted a master redevelopment plan for the space more than two years ago to create a “mixed-use, mixed-income, walkable community with a balance of jobs, housing, amenities and services.”