World Cup fever is soaring at Soccer City in Frisco.
The specialized soccer merchandise store is beginning to stock up on official World Cup gear.
The shop’s back wall is dedicated to the eight countries that have claimed World Cup glory, including reigning champ Argentina.
Key figures from each country are also displayed, from Pele to Lionel Messi.
James Stiglets hopes the global tournament, as well as Frisco’s prime location (home of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and FC Dallas Toyota Stadium), will help save his store on Main Street.
The first batch of games announced over the weekend has renewed hope that business will pick up, especially knowing Argentina will be playing at least two games at AT&T Stadium, which will temporarily be called Dallas Stadium during the World Cup.
Soccer City is among dozens of locally owned businesses affected by the city of Frisco’s Main Street improvement project.
“It’s been a very difficult 18 months, so we’ve got a lot to make up in the next six months to a year,” said Stiglets.
For months, Rail District merchants have publicly spoken out, accusing the city of ‘poor planning’ and not providing the kind of financial support they need.
Several merchants say tearing up the two-lane street for an extended period of time cut off easy access to businesses and drove customers away, leading to plummeting sales.
Many continue to criticize the project, years in the making, aimed at improving walkability by removing some on-street parking and reconstructing the two-lane street.
Assistant City Manager Ben Brezina provided NBC 5 with an update on the project and help provided to dozens of small merchants in the neighborhood.
“We’ve invested $1.4 million to help downtown the Rail District businesses,” he said. “The plaza and the parking garage will be under construction through May of next year, so very excited about the construction on Main Street wrapping up.”
Public funding has gone directly to promoting businesses, providing temporary parking areas and grants for beautification projects and a gift card program.
“It’s not an easy project, but again, the light is at the end of the tunnel and we’re almost done,” said Brezina.
The gift card program has been a source of contention for many business owners who insist that the program, providing $50 gift cards (physical cards and later digital cards), has had little to no impact on their businesses.
Stiglets estimates the gift cards have accounted for about $2,000 of business.
When asked what percentage of the over $600,000 Brezina says was earmarked for the gift card program has been redeemed by recipients, the city leader said about ($250,000) 35% of the cards have been redeemed.
He anticipates a lot more will be redeemed in the coming weeks as the cards expire in January.
The city insists the gift card program is working and will therefore circle back in 2026.
“We’ll probably do another round this summer after we have our grand opening for the plaza and the garage,” said Brezina. “All things World Cup this year, 2026, so look for another round of digital gift cards this summer.”
Moving forward, Stiglets is keeping any concerns or specific criticism to himself and says he’s just glad his portion of Main Street is finally open.
“It’s a new day,” said Stiglets. “We have the holiday season, we have World Cup coming. We hope that people in Frisco, DFW surrounding areas make their way back to the area and support the local businesses that have endured the last 18 months.”
To keep up with the latest developments in the Rail District revitalization project and businesses in the area, click here.
