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DFW’s World Cup Economic Impact is Most of U.S. Cities

DFW: FIFA’s World Cup has finally arrived, and it’s bringing an estimated economic impact of up to $2 billion to Dallas-Fort Worth and its businesses. That’s the most for any of the 11 U.S. host cities over the 39-day tournament, according to numerous economists. DFW is hosting nine matches, the most of any city. AT&T Stadium, temporarily transformed into Dallas Stadium, has the most seating capacity of U.S. venues at 94,000. It has an international media center that will host more than 4,000 journalists. Hundreds of thousands of fans are expected leading up to and after the matches not only in Arlington but throughout the Metroplex. Teams playing at Dallas Stadium will include Argentina, Austria, Croatia, England, Japan, Jordan, Netherlands, and Sweden. But the cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco and Arlington also had to spend more than $50 million combined for added police and security, transportation, events and for the upgrade to the International Broadcast Center in downtown Dallas. The cities hope to get reimbursements from state funds and from FIFA itself.

DFW: Plano really wants the Dallas Stars, and city leaders recently approved $700 million in funding and incentives to entice the team away from downtown Dallas. The funding will help create a new entertainment district at the soon-to-be demolished The Shops at Willow Bend site off the Dallas North Tollway. The Stars’ lease at American Airlines Center in Victory Park in Dallas expires in 2031. The goal for the Stars is to create a billion-dollar stadium as the draw for a year-round $3 billion multi-purpose development of commercial, hotel, retail, restaurant and entertainment venues. Plano’s incentive vote comes on the heels of a $20 million incentive grant approval to entice AT&T from downtown Dallas. The Dallas Mavericks also are making plans to move by 2031 from American Airlines Center to the former Valley View Mall site in North Dallas. 

DFW: And in Cowtown, Fort Worth city leaders have voted for $10 million in incentives for a $100 million apartment development on Panther Island. The 400-acre Panther Island site north of downtown is being transformed into a multi-use area and already includes Encore, an apartment complex that opened in 2021 and is valued at more than $50 million. The council’s most recent vote gives Seco Ventures of Austin until the end of 2030 to complete its work on the 250,000-square-foot, 12-story apartment building. It calls for the real estate investment company to spend at least $100 million, including $70 million on construction and $30 million to certified small businesses. Seco has announced plans to build 290 apartment units and close to 9,000 square feet of ground retail and restaurant space on the site. It also owns another 32 acres in the area. 

DFW: Dirt is flying on a new luxury community south of Fort Worth. Realty Capital Management of Irving has started construction on Westhill Park, a 300-acre master-planned community in Mansfield, about 20 miles south of Fort Worth. The first phase of infrastructure construction will be for about 200 lots of the development’s 600 total homes. The first phase of infrastructure construction should be completed by early next year and the homes to be built on those lots will range from $650,000 to more than $1 million. When fully built out, the $500 million tree-lined development will include various footprints of luxury homes, plus trails, fishing ponds and a 100-acre park. 

LALALAND: Dakota Johnson is hoping for a sizable profit on a midcentury modern she bought 10 years ago, thanks to her “Fifty Shades of Grey” fame. Dakota, the daughter of Hollywood stars Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, purchased the 3,200-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bath home in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles in 2016 for $3 million. She is now asking $6 million, given the major renovation work on the property that she refers to as the “tree house” because of the massive tree canopy that surrounds the home, especially the backyard. The home features an iconic olive-green kitchen, lots of glass, dark woods and masterful appointments throughout the two-story home. No word whether the renovation included a secret playroom. 

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