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Frisco residents and business owners urge council to address Rail District construction losses
Summary
Business owners and residents told the Frisco City Council on Aug. 5 that long-running Rail District construction has sharply reduced downtown foot traffic and sales; council and staff pointed to ongoing city investments and promotional efforts but did not adopt immediate relief measures.
Dozens of residents and business owners described steep losses tied to downtown/Rail District construction during the public-comment portion of the Aug. 5 Frisco City Council work session.
Austin Stiglitz, whose family owns Soccer City Frisco, said the store lost about $500,000 between July 2023 and July 2024 and that register counts fell roughly 50 percent between July 2023 and July 2025. “If the trend continues for 2025 … we will finish the year worse off than we did in 2020,” Stiglitz said, calling the construction “devastating” and describing refinancing and increased loan costs his business absorbed.
Paul Jessen, a downtown visitor, asked whether the city could create a fund or other relief to prevent small businesses from closing; Mayor Jeff Cheney and staff described multiple support efforts already underway, including receipt-based promotional programs, gift-card campaigns and a downtown liaison. The mayor emphasized the city has invested about $80,000,000 into downtown improvements and framed the staging choices as part of a multi‑year plan to make the rail district more walkable.
Dan Elmer, representing neighborhood concerns, raised state preemption legislation (referred to in testimony as Senate Bill 840) as an additional, separate risk to local planning and urged the council to pursue legal avenues to protect community priorities.
Council members acknowledged the business hardships and said staff will continue outreach and follow-up with affected merchants, but no new financial relief or formal emergency assistance was approved at the meeting.
Notable other public comments included promotion of upcoming arts events and community festivals; one speaker, Mark Palasciano, used his time to raise broad political and demographic claims about H‑1B workers and corporate practices (these remarks contain contested factual assertions and allegations).
