Photos by Michael Davis, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.00
Toyota Stadium 9200 World Cup Way Frisco, TX 75034
Year Opened: 2005
Capacity: 20,500
Scooter’s Frisco Bowl
The Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl is one of the earliest college football bowl games of the post-season. The game is played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, home of the Major League Soccer team, FC Dallas. The bowl game started in December 2017 and has been hosted by a few corporate sponsors; DXL was the original sponsor in 2017, followed by Tropical Smoothie Café, before moving to the current sponsor, Scooter’s Coffee.
Toyota Stadium has a capacity of only 20,500, which is plenty, as the bowl attendance is well under the capacity. The highest attendance for the Frisco Bowl is 15,801, achieved in 2021 when the University of Texas-San Antonio defeated San Diego State 38-24.
Food & Beverage 3
The concessions at the Frisco Bowl are decent – Toyota Stadium has a good variety of options at its concession stands, including alcohol selections, but at major sports-level prices.
The main stands offer most of your typical stadium fare, such as hot dogs, nachos, burgers, brats, chicken tenders, pretzels, peanuts, packaged candy, and cinnamon-glazed nuts, but they also throw in a bunch of less commonly found items, such as chicken tinga nachos, buffalo cauliflower bowls, hot garlic sausage, and a brisket hot dog.
The stadium’s drink selection provides Coke products throughout the Frisco Bowl. The alcohol selection is also abundant, due to the stadium being a major sports venue, with plenty of choices throughout the stadium at the concession stands or from the mobile carts – you can find alcohol ranging from both canned and draft beer to wine and high-end specialty cocktails. Just be prepared to pay high prices for alcoholic drinks.
Atmosphere 3
The atmospheres at smaller bowl games are usually similar to each other, as the teams are traveling to a venue outside their familiar pre-game set-ups. Therefore, the team’s traditional entrance into the stadium, as well as the tailgating on weekday evenings, is less common. At the most recent game, for example, West Virginia just held a small pep rally with fans in the parking lot.
The Scooter’s Frisco Bowl has plenty of seating, as attendance is historically small with this bowl. Toyota Stadium only has seating along the two sidelines – the north end zone has a bare stage, while the team bands are seated behind the south end, where the National Soccer Hall of Fame is located.
During the most recent version, both participating schools brought their bands, along with their mascots and spirit squads – for this Frisco Bowl a large shout-out goes to the University of Memphis band. Their high energy throughout the night kept the atmosphere going, as the play on the field was lackluster until late in the game.
Neighborhood 4
Toyota Stadium is located about 30 miles north of Dallas in Frisco, Texas. Outside the stadium is a small, quaint area of restaurants and shops, but the city of Frisco is much bigger with an approximate population of 165K. Some fans may recognize the Frisco name as having one of the nicest minor league baseball stadiums; nearby Riders Field is home to the Frisco Roughriders.
The restaurants outside Toyota Stadium are plentiful – a couple of great options close to the stadium include Green Gator and Blue Goose Cantina. Others are within a short drive; for BBQ you can’t go wrong with Hutchins, and there is also Babe’s Chicken for a unique family-style dining experience.
There are a few things to do and see while you are in Frisco, helping to keep your trip local. Toyota Stadium is home to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, which can be entered by using the Main Street side of the stadium. Frisco is also home to the National Videogame Museum, which features a huge collection of game consoles, all of which are playable, including a classic video game arcade.
In addition, a few miles south on the tollway in Dallas is The Star, namely the headquarters, practice fields, and home of the Dallas Cowboys. This facility can be toured daily and has plenty of restaurants and shops to explore.
There are three hotels close to Toyota Stadium: Courtyard Dallas, Holiday Inn, and Comfort Suites, but other options are abundant within driving distance.
Fans 3
The fact that fans travel to watch their team play bowl games that don’t matter outside the college football playoff says a lot about them. The loyalty, dedication, and love of the fans are what truly make the bowl games special. The Frisco Bowl is usually played on a weeknight and is one of the first bowls of the bowl season.
The fans in attendance at the most recent game were solid, which is expected when it comes to bowl games – very loud and engaged in the game.
Access 3
There are two airports, Dallas-Fort Worth International and Dallas Love Field, which are both about the same distance (25 miles) from Toyota Stadium in Frisco. The city is a city of about 225,000 in population, about 30 miles north of Dallas, and part of the DFW Metroplex. That said, there is no direct public transportation from either airport, so you will likely have to drive to get to Frisco and Toyota Stadium. The best plan is to stay up in the Frisco area, as the Frisco Bowl is played at 7 pm on a weeknight; coming from outside the Frisco area in the early evening can be time-consuming for travelers.
Toyota Stadium is not far from the Dallas Tollway, and the stadium and parking have plenty of signage, so the ingress and egress are fast once you get there. Due to the small attendance, walking around the stadium to restrooms and concessions takes little time away from your seat. However, the stadium’s security does cut off the National Soccer Hall of Fame end zone from other ticketholders, so most fans don’t have full access to the stadium.
Return on Investment 3
The Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl is at a perfect venue – if your team is one of the participants, then the investment may be worthwhile. Otherwise, it is a little high in cost for the casual local fan who doesn’t care about either school. Tickets range from $30 for the end zones to $65 for midfield and $55 for sideline seating (there is an ESPN Zone VIP ticket that starts at $149, but I don’t know what that entitles a fan to experience).
The cost of VIP parking is $20; otherwise, parking is free. The cost of concessions is really where the ROI hits a negative. However, this is a bowl game and most people have spent a lot of money to travel here, so the Scooter’s Frisco Bowl is on par with other ESPN bowls in terms of return on investment.
Extras 2
The Frisco Bowl is played in a top sports venue and makes good use of the facility – holding the FCS National Championship here, as well as various high school football games, helps the operations team prepare to make this event almost perfect.
The Frisco area also has a lot to offer, without fans feeling the need to spend time in the larger city of Dallas.
Final Thoughts
The Scooter’s Frisco Bowl is part of ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, which owns and operates a portfolio of 34 collegiate sporting events nationwide, flooding the college football scene with college bowl games that the majority of football fans don’t care about, let alone would get excited by.
The Scooter’s Frisco Bowl may be wonderful for the teams/fans that participate, and a wonderful boost to Frisco’s economy, but a must-see bowl game it is not.
Disclosure: Due to the renovations of Toyota Stadium for the MLS tenant, FC Dallas, the FCS National Championship will move away from Frisco in 2025; how this will affect the 2025 Scooter’s Frisco Bowl remains to be seen.
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