< Previous T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DEstates in the nation. More than 160 languages are spoken in Texas homes, and more than one third of the state’s 26.9 million people speak a language other than English at home. When people move to Texas, they fi nd a welcoming and inclusive environment for themselves and their families. Not only does the state off er lower cost of living and housing costs, but residents also enjoy low taxes and abundant amenities and opportunities. Students in Texas are more likely to succeed since the state has a record high graduation rate at 89.1 percent and is in the top 5 states in the nation for graduation rates. The U.S Department of Education has awarded more Texas public schools its exemplary Blue Ribbon designation than any other state — 23 in 2018. Educational institutions in Texas continually earn high marks. The state boasts three of the top 15 STEM schools, four of the top 10 magnet high schools, fi ve of the top 20 public high schools, 2 of the top 25 public charter schools and more public high schools ranked among the top 100 than any other state in the nation, according to US News & World Report. Across the Lone Star State, the Friday Night Lights burn bright in high school stadiums. Many Texans passionately follow their favorite high school and college teams. Additionally, several renowned teams like the 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros, the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Cowboys call the state home. Whether residents are looking for an urban or country lifestyle, Texas has it all in spades. From world-class barbecue restaurants, twangy guitars and of course the larger-than-life Texas ethos, those lucky enough to call themselves Texans enjoy activities that run the gamut. The expansive state off ers an abundance of outdoor activity with 81 state parks, 191,000 miles of rivers and streams and 367 miles of coastline. More than 70 working ranches in the state give people the opportunity to experience true cowboy culture. In sunny El Paso, Franklin Mountain State Park is the largest state park within a city and off ers 125 miles of mountain hiking and rock climbing in McKelligon Canyon. The rugged backdrop and sweeping Texas vista are what fans of Western movies have come to expect of the state — though it off ers so much more. Urban centers like the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex off er all the big-city excitement one could ever want with plenty of quiet suburban communities for families to enjoy. Housing costs in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2018 are lower than the national average as is median monthly rent. Along the Texas Gulf Coast, communities like Houston and Corpus Christi enjoy a unique brand of the Texas lifestyle. With its clear blue waters and sandy beaches, the Gulf Coast region is a major a raction for tourists to the state. Houston is also home to nationally recognized medical centers including the famous Texas Medical Center — the world’s largest medical complex. Even small cities are earning national recognition for their high quality of life. The Walton Family Foundation ranked the cities of Pecos and Uvalde, Texas, in its ranking of the Top 20 Micropolitan Areas in the US at No. 1 and No. 11, respectively. Regardless of where one chooses to se le in Texas, the state off ers a uniquely larger-than-life lifestyle that continues to draw people in droves. Padre Island Photo by Heather Overmanranked TEXAS the #1 Growth State in America for the 3rd consecutive yearPelicans in Corpus Christi Photo by Heather OvermanS P O R T S & RE C RE A T I O Nhe PGA of America spent two years scouring the country to find the optimal place to build its new permanent headquarters.When the dust settled on the complex site search, the boomtown of Frisco, Texas, beat out at least 200 other U.S. cities to land the half-billion-dollar prize.How a rapidly growing North Dallas suburb now known as “Sports City USA” outhustled behemoths like Atlanta, Phoenix and South Florida to claim golf’s biggest prize is a story of high-stakes wheeling and dealing, but mostly it’s a tale of Texas grit.Not even a Phil Mickelson driver on a par 4 at Augusta would be as bold a play as what 173,000-resident Frisco just pulled off. The 29,000-member Professional Golfers’ Association of America, founded in 1916, is leaving its home of four decades in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, to move to a place that was barely more than a cattle ranch just 25 years ago.A $163.8-million state and local incentives package will facilitate $520 million in development on 600 acres that will include a $30-million, 100,000-sq.-ft. headquarters for PGA of America, two 18-hole championship courses, one 9-hole golf course, a 500-room Omni resort owned by Omni Hotels & Resorts, 35,000-sq.-ft. golf clubhouse, 40,000 sq. ft. of retail space, 127,000-sq.-ft. conference center, a golf academy and other related facilities.The project has a tentative opening date of 2022, and economic models forecast that the development will have a $2.5-billion economic impact over 20 years.“Our move to Frisco will be transcendent for the PGA of America,” said Seth Waugh, CEO of PGA of America. “Everything great starts with a dream. This is the beginning of a bold, new journey as we bring together world-class partners in a world-class location to deliver innovative and differentiated experiences for our nearly 29,000 PGA golf professionals, golfers of all by RON STARNERTThe Golf Shot Heard ‘Round the WorldHow Frisco beat out 200-plus cities to land the crown jewel of sports.168 T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DEabilities and our staff.”The PGA’s Northern Texas Section will also move to what is being called PGA Frisco, joining an estimated 100 staff members at the new PGA of America headquarters. The association eventually plans to increase its workforce in Frisco to 250.One RFP, 212 ResponsesWhile the site selection process itself took about two years from start to finish, the search took on heightened urgency last May when the association issued a request for proposals for a new headquarters and received 212 responses.While Waugh would not say how many communities got serious looks, he did mention Atlanta, Charlotte, Phoenix, South Florida and the Dallas-Frisco area as major contenders. “We looked at other sites in Palm Beach County, both urban and remote locations, and we looked at other possible locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex,” Waugh says. “We knew of Frisco because we had a North Texas PGA Section offer to do a municipal golf course there for PGA, so it began as our looking at it from a pure golf perspective, and then it evolved from there.”Headquarters talks with Frisco “accelerated those conversations,” he notes, adding that “the entrance of the Omni group was really a game-changer. Everything they do is world-class.”Several factors helped sway the deal in Frisco’s favor, says Waugh. “Frisco had a real desire to attract our brand. That fact, combined with available land and their generous incentives offer, made Frisco jump out. They were very aggressive, and they have proven that they are great at attracting companies in the sports world and across the board.”Frisco’s success in nabbing the new corporate headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 helped put the town on the map of many other sports organizations, he notes, and that success has transcended the sports world. On Feb. 21 of this year, Keurig Dr. Pepper announced that the company will move its Texas headquarters from nearby Plano to a new 350,000-sq.-ft., build-to-suit, leased facility at The Star in Frisco — the Cowboys’ new home. “What we really loved about Frisco was that we had this raw piece of clay that we could make into our dream,” says Waugh. “We were just looking for a 100,000-sq.-ft. headquarters when we started, but when we began to talk to the folks in Frisco, we realized that this was a once-in-several-lifetimes opportunity to do something really significant.”He also cited the very affordable cost of living in Frisco, the diversity of the people living there, “the optimism and happiness there that is infectious,” and an overall tax and business environment that he says “is very attractive.”The pro-business environment in Texas sealed the deal, he adds. “The people in the Dallas-Frisco area have been incredibly welcoming,” notes Waugh. “The sports DNA in Frisco is second to none. They had every sport but ours — the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL, FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, minor league baseball and basketball and hockey, plus other sports groups. They are truly building Frisco into Sports City USA. We are the last piece of the puzzle.”Other advantages, he says, include the Central Time Zone location and the ability to be just one flight from every major market in the country via DFW International Airport 20 minutes away.“This will enable us to fulfill our dream of creating a laboratory for the game,” says Waugh. “It could become T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DE 169Photo: Getty Images170 T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DEthe Silicon Valley of Golf — a testing place for ideas and entrepreneurship and innovation. It has turned into much more than what we had even imagined.”Quantifying the IncentivesThe huge incentives package from the city and state, he adds, “were very important. We are a non-profit organization that exists to serve our members and serve our game. We always have to be prudent and thoughtful with how we spend their resources. The incentives offer by Frisco and the State of Texas made our dream possible. Are they generous? Absolutely. That is part of what made Frisco a reality — their willingness to be generous to attract world-class companies.”Ron Patterson, president of the Frisco Economic Development Corp., says that many people in the city and the state worked hard for long hours to make this project a reality. “It was in excess of a year that we worked through the process with PGA of America,” he says. “There may have been some other work that PGA did in the site search before that, but our process lasted about a year. They let us know early on in this process that they were very serious about choosing Frisco as their new home. By the middle of that year-long process, we felt like they were leaning in this direction versus staying where they were in South Florida.”Patterson says it’s important for people to understand the totality of the project. “Walkable, mixed-use communities are driving the market right now, and this will be one,” he says. “The PGA is going not just to a standard office development, but they are going to anchor a major mixed-use community with a 500-room conference center hotel, multiple golf courses, lots of meeting space, etc.”The icing on the cake, he notes, is that PGA of America is bringing with it two PGA Championships, two KPMG Women’s PGA Championships, and potentially a Ryder Cup.Investors in the public-private project include Omni Stillwater Woods, a joint venture of Omni Hotels & Resorts, Stillwater Capital and Woods Capital; the City of Frisco and the Frisco Economic Development Corp.; and the Frisco Independent School District.The 25-year agreement calls for the City of Frisco and its development corporations and FISD to contribute no more than $35 million toward development of the public facilities, with the city kicking in $13.3 million, the Frisco EDC paying $2.5 million, the Frisco Community Development Corp. contributing $13.3 million, and the FISD paying $5.8 million. The Omni partnership will initially pay the city Like PGA in Frisco, this project will anchor a mixed-use development.Image courtesy of Texas Rangers172 T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DE$100,000 a year in rent and is investing $455 million to buy the property and develop the hotel, conference center, retail shops, golf courses and parking complexes. Omni is paying $60 million for the land alone.The city will also provide performance incentives, which include a portion of hotel occupancy, mixed beverage, sales and property taxes generated by the hotel and associated retail on site for 20 years. These performance incentives are estimated to total between $52 million and $74 million. Additionally, the State of Texas will contribute all the hotel and sales tax, along with a portion of mixed beverage tax collected on the project for 10 years. The state grant total, provided through Texas Chapter 351 incentives, is valued at more than $62.5 million over 10 years. FEDC is also investing $14.3 million over 15 years for the PGA of America headquarters relocation, job creation and PGA tournament incentives.The project announcement, which came on Dec. 4, 2018, capped a year in which Money magazine named Frisco the 2018 Best Place to Live in America and in which WalletHub ranked Frisco as first in the nation in population growth and first in job growth. Since 2010, Frisco’s population has jumped 47.8 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.Waugh says he’s never seen another place like Frisco. “The combination of assets they have in Frisco is just unfathomable and unmatchable anywhere,” he says. “We still love Florida and we will keep a significant part of our operational hub in Palm Beach County, but Frisco is making our dream possible. They just welcomed us with open arms.” There hasn’t been this much attention paid to sharks since Peter Benchley’s “Jaws” was making its way through theaters in the 1970s. But unlike the movie version that terrified kids and adults alike around America four decades ago, this edition of sharks is sparking nothing but good vibes and thrilling times … on the soccer pitch.Welcome to the world of the Corpus Christi Futbol Club, known affectionately to hard-core fans in the area as the Sharks. Playing in United Soccer League 2, the professional sports franchise may be only two years old, but it is already making waves in the world’s most popular sport.“We had our first season last year and we had massive support from the community,” says Dr. Kingsley Okonkwo, a local pediatrician who is the owner and president of the club. “We average around 1,000 fans per home game, which ranks us in the top 10 in the country in USL2. The people here are very warm and welcoming. The weather is wonderful, and this is a very conducive place to do business.”The club has been winning over fans by living up to its motto — “Ex Pertinacia Victoria,” or “Victory Through Determination.” That has spilled over into a competitive product on the field and success at the gate and in the community.“We were named one of the three best USL franchises in the country,” says Okonkwo, a Texas native who relocated from Dallas to Corpus Christi because he fell in love with the Coastal Bend. “I have family here locally, and I love it here. Our goal is to grow young talent and give them a pathway into the highest levels of professional soccer in America and abroad.”The club boasted nine home-grown players from the local area last season and this year will field 12. A partnership with storied club FC Bayern of Germany will run the team’s new Youth Academy, and already one young prospect is drawing interest from teams in Europe: home-grown Karlo Lopez.“He has traveled with one of the U.S. youth national teams, and he is a special talent,” says the club owner. “Our goal is to win the league this season. That is what we are playing for; and we will compete with a chance to win in the historic U.S. Open Cup tournament.”The club plays its home matches at the Dr. James Dugan Family Track & Soccer Stadium at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. Its first match this season was on April 20.The Corpus Christi FC Sharks.Photo courtesy Corpus Christi FCIt’s a Kick in the GrassNext >