This month’s episode of Economic Development Secrets features James Gandy, President of the Frisco, TX Economic Development Corporation. Jim became President of the Frisco Economic Development Corporation (FEDC) in 1996 when Frisco’s population was approximately 18,000. Twenty years later, the population has boomed to over 154,000.
During his time leading the FEDC, Jim has worked on many projects to enhance the quality-of-life for residents through the attraction of new businesses, generation of quality job opportunities and expansion of the tax base in the City of Frisco.
With population growth of 307% since 2000, Frisco has developed into a thriving city with significant corporate headquarters and destination retail such as Stonebriar Centre’ (Mall), Centre at Preston Ridge and big retailers like IKEA, Costco and Nordstrom.
Development of destination sports venues has been a major part of Frisco’s economic development strategy since 1997. The Frisco EDC has facilitated the development of several major sports venues including the:
- Frisco Superdrome (1998),
- Dr Pepper Ballpark (2003), Home of Frisco RoughRiders, AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers
- Dr Pepper Arena (2003), Headquarters and practice facility of the NHL Dallas Stars
- Toyota Stadium (2005), Headquarters and home field for MLS FC Dallas
- FieldhouseUSA (2009), and most recently the,
- The Star in Frisco (2016), which is the World Corporate Headquarters and training center of the NFL Dallas Cowboys.
Under Jim’s leadership, the FEDC was recognized in October 2013 as the Highest Performing Economic Development Organization for cities with populations of 100,001 to 250,000 by Atlas Advertising. The Dallas Business Journal ranked the FEDC number one among North Texas economic development agencies. Both accolades were based on the value of deals facilitated by the FEDC in 2012.
Jim is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) by the International Economic Development Council, (IEDC) and a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM).
He holds a Bachelor’s degree of Business Administration from Texas A&M University, Kingsville, Texas.
Previously, Mr. Gandy was:
- Director of Economic Development for the City of Seguin, Texas.
- President of the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce, City of San Marcos, Texas
- Jackson County Chamber of Commerce in the City of Edna, Texas.
Click the link to listen to Jim Gandy’s Economic Development Secrets.
