Toyota Stadium Renovations: What I like in the plans (and also don't like as much)

The renderings look great but will it all pan out by 2028?

Late Tuesday night or Wednesday morning (depending on when you caught it), FC Dallas revealed some major stadium news. The local city council in Frisco approved a $182 million renovation, allowing the club to renovate the third-oldest soccer-specific stadium in MLS.

From a new canopy roof on the stadium, a large video board, and new concessions stands to a mixed-use facility that will take about a decade to complete, the renovations will drastically change how people view FC Dallas around the league with regard to their stadium.

After thoroughly reviewing all the news, I realized there was so much to get excited about with the club's announcement about the stadium renovation. Here are some things I am excited about and some that could put a bit of cold water on it all.

What’s good about the renovations?

In a weird way, this feels like a brand-new stadium when it is all said and done. Stadium construction costs tend to run pretty high these days around MLS, and the fact that the club is putting in a little over $180 million tells you how big of an upgrade this will all be.

While the upgrades to the South End of the stadium a few years ago were excellent, as they brought in the National Soccer Hall of Fame and some much-needed improvements to that portion of the facility, they didn’t do what this upgrade will do. Which brings the stadium into the modern soccer stadium era in MLS.

😎 Finally, some shade*

Rendering via FC Dallas

I know some folks will say that the renderings won’t totally match the final product. And, believe me, I’ve seen enough MLS stadium renderings over the years to know that is 100% right to say.

But man, it is hard not to get excited about what the shade will do to this venue. There is a bit of an asterisk on this one, though, that I will touch on later in this piece.