Documents detail FWISD’s Farrington Field proposal as council members urge transparency

Two Fort Worth City Council members are calling for transparency and public involvement as Fort Worth ISD considers redeveloping land surrounding historic Farrington Field.

The push comes as documents obtained by the Fort Worth Report reveal details outlining the stadium’s possible future, including a previously signed agreement between FWISD, city and private soccer group representatives before bids were sought, as well as efforts to attract investors. 

City spokesperson Sana Syed said the agreement is no longer applicable and that the city has made no funding commitments.

On Oct. 26, council members Elizabeth Beck and Macy Hill — who both represent areas near Farrington Field — wrote a letter to Superintendent Peter Licata requesting that the district abide by its newly approved real estate policy, conduct independent economic analyses and involve nearby residents before moving forward. 

“A transaction of this scale warrants a rigorous, transparent process,” the council members wrote.

But the concerns of council members and nearby residents go beyond the previously signed agreement. Beck and Hill are requesting independent economic analyses, a joint stakeholder advisory committee and formal coordination between the city and school district.

Board President Pete Geren said Nov. 3 the district’s new real estate policy establishes steps intended to protect its financial interests and ensure residents have opportunities to weigh in. 

“The policy builds transparency into every step along the way, from beginning to end,” Geren said.

District spokesperson Evan Anderson did not address specific questions about which requirements of the district’s new real estate policy have been completed or how it has responded to the council members’ requests. Meanwhile, documents obtained by the Report show private efforts to attract investors to a professional soccer venture that could bring men’s and women’s teams to Farrington Field. 

FWISD’s board of managers is scheduled to meet Nov. 4 and Nov. 10. Farrington is not expected to be discussed during either meeting, Anderson said in a statement.

“As these conversations are ongoing, we will provide an update at a later time,” Anderson said.

The council members’ letter came ahead of an Oct. 27 meeting, where the district’s state-appointed board of managers was scheduled to discuss Farrington Field behind closed doors. The board took no action after the meeting.

During an Aug. 11 meeting, Kellie Spencer, FWISD’s deputy superintendent of district operations, said the district would complete the requirements of its new real estate policy before bringing Farrington Field to the board for consideration.

“The board will operate under this policy when (proposals) are brought to the board for its approval as this will be the governing policy at that time,” Geren said during the August meeting.

Previously signed agreement outlines redevelopment

In September 2025, a memorandum of understanding was signed between then-Superintendent Karen Molinar, Fort Worth Assistant City Manager Jesica McEachern and Jonah Football Holdings CEO Nathan Hanks outlining plans to renovate Farrington Field and develop surrounding district-owned property.

That was four months before the district sent its first call for proposals in January. The plan was to spend about $65 million on improving the stadium, including approximately $55 million in reimbursements from a tax increment financing zone. 

This form of financing is usually based on future increases in property tax revenue in a specific area to reimburse the cost of developing that area.

The agreement — obtained by the Report and verified through a public records request — also included expectations for about $330 million in private development around the stadium. It proposed allowing Jonah to use the district-owned stadium for professional soccer under a 20-year agreement, with two possible 10-year extensions.

Under the proposal, FWISD would also contribute at least 35% of the maintenance-and-operations property taxes it collected within the tax increment zone to support the financing arrangement. 

The agreement would have allowed FWISD to maintain ownership and control of Farrington Field. It also called for nine months of exclusive negotiations with Jonah over the use of the stadium. Jonah plans to pursue both professional men’s and women’s soccer clubs to play there.

However, the agreement was explicitly nonbinding. It established a preliminary framework for further negotiations and did not require the district to select Jonah to develop adjacent land following a future competitive bidding process.

Syed confirmed the agreement no longer applies.

“Since its execution, FWISD has pursued a separate competitive process related to the sale of property and potential redevelopment of Farrington Field, rendering the MOU no longer applicable,” Syed said.

Any potential city involvement in financing the redevelopment would be considered after FWISD completes its process. Proposed tax increment financing would also require approval from the tax increment financing board, she said.

In May, the school district opened up another round of requests for proposals from potential developers of property surrounding Farrington Field. Up to seven parcels of land may be developed. The actual stadium will remain with the school district.

Investor outreach provides additional details

Separate documents obtained by the Report demonstrate attempts to secure investment in the proposed professional soccer venture.

In an October email, Amanda Bush — copying her husband, former Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush — invited a prospective investor to discuss investing alongside the couple in Fort Worth FC, a proposed organization involving professional men’s and women’s soccer teams.

Amanda Bush, president and managing partner of Pine Cove Strategies, said in a statement that reaching out to prospective investors is a standard part of developing a sports project.

“No financial commitments are being requested at this stage,” she said. “Those conversations would only take place once the project has received the necessary approvals and is ready to move forward.” 

The email identified Hanks, a technology entrepreneur and investor, as founder and chairman of the organization and described plans to preserve Farrington Field while developing around it. A previous investigation by the Report also tied Hanks to the proposed development. 

An accompanying investment overview provided a list of involved firms such as Billingsley Co., M2G Ventures and Bennett Partners. 

Jessica Miller Essl, co-founder of M2G Ventures, declined to comment, citing respect for FWISD’s ongoing process. Lucy Billingsley, partner at Billingsley Co., similarly deferred comment until a more appropriate time. Neither confirmed a financial commitment.

The document also identified opportunities for investing in the soccer clubs and real estate developments — with the potential for reimbursement.

Private funding up front doesn’t preclude public reimbursement later, said Sriram Villupuram, a finance and real estate professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Courting investors before a development agreement is finalized is common, Villupuram said. 

FWISD’s new real estate policy is a good first step toward a competitive process, he said, but does not fully address how financial risks and potential losses would be divided between the district and a developer. 

Any agreement should make clear who bears the financial responsibility if the project underperforms, and those details would need to be worked out in a final contract, the professor said.

“Who is taking the risk here?” Villupuram asked.

Residents, preservation advocates seek involvement

Beck and Hill’s concerns extend beyond the project’s financing. 

Their letter said nearby residents and community stakeholders had raised questions about insufficient notice and wanted more community input.

Jill Freer, president of the West 7th Street Neighborhood Alliance, said her organization has received no direct outreach from FWISD or the city despite representing residents in neighborhoods surrounding Farrington Field.

“We believe that we are all stakeholders in the future of Farrington Field and the surrounding area, and yet, we have not been involved or even directly notified of any development activity of the FWISD Farrington Field property,” Freer wrote in an email.

What does FWISD’s new real estate policy require?

The policy, adopted by the board of managers Aug. 11, establishes additional requirements for significant real estate transactions involving property valued at $5 million or more, or property with historic, civic or neighborhood importance.

For those transactions, the district must:

• Obtain an independent appraisal, review property restrictions and assess environmental conditions.
• Hold at least one neighborhood meeting, allow at least 30 days for written comments and notify nearby property owners, neighborhood associations and current users.
• Assess potential effects on district finances, including participation in tax increment financing.
• Present financial analyses, property valuations, community feedback and recommendations before the board considers a transaction.

Freer has worries about parking, traffic and additional mixed-use developments’ impact on nearby neighborhoods and community events, like the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

FWISD previously held a public input meeting in May and solicited feedback through an online survey in September. 

Historic Fort Worth’s Jerre Tracy and Martin Dahl also want greater public involvement and protections for Farrington Field and nearby Billingsley Field House. If development is done right, professional soccer at Farrington could be a net positive for the property, they said.

Dahl, chairman of the organization’s public affairs committee, said both structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places but lack local historic designations that could provide additional protections against demolition or inappropriate alterations.

The preservation organization is not necessarily against professional soccer being played in Farrington, said Tracy, Historic Fort Worth’s executive director. Bringing new uses to the stadium may help preserve the property, Tracy added.

But Tracy and Dahl stressed the importance of resident involvement before decisions become final.

Selecting a developer before the public can examine detailed plans — and before FWISD’s real estate policy is followed — could create the appearance that the decision had already been made.

“It would look like a done deal,” Tracy said.

Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @matthewsgroi1.

Disclosure: FWISD manager Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. FWISD manager Laurie George is a member of the Report’s reader advisory council. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.