Considering a trip to the “Big D” (Dallas) to support the Sounders? Here’s everything you’ll need to know.
GET THERE
Air
Non-stop flights from Seattle to DFW are available on Alaska and American Airlines. Booked in advance, round-trip flights on Alaska go as low as $240 and American usually has similar prices. If you book in advance you will find the best prices (average round-trip: $250-$280) and most availability. Waiting closer to time or after many flights are already booked will result in your flight being $300-$450 round-trip.
If you don’t mind a connecting flight with a stop (or multiple stops) along the way then there are other airlines including Spirit, Delta, United, Virgin America, and Frontier. Spirit offers the cheapest base fare (usually around $200-$225 round-trip) however, it’s Spirit and they have many other fees and you will end up paying more in the end. Delta, United, Virgin America, and Frontier all usually run between $275-$340 round-trip but each airline will occasionally offer a sale or promotion and you might be able to find cheaper prices if you don’t mind the stop on the way.
Every carrier except Southwest Airlines flies into DFW Airport, which is located roughly 20 miles east of downtown Dallas and 25 miles southwest of the stadium. Southwest Airlines does offer non-stop flights as well as connecting flights from Seattle to Dallas Love Field (DAL). Flights on Southwest are as low at $250 round-trip and average around $280 round-trip. Love Field located 5 miles from downtown Dallas and approximately 25 miles south of the stadium.
Driving
Deathly afraid of flying? Want to put ~4,200 miles on your vehicle in the span of a week? The drive from Seattle to Frisco (where Toyota Stadium is located) is approx. 30 hours of drive-time (60 hours round-trip) so you will need to plan out multiple days to make the road trip.
If you’re traveling from the surrounding states or the Heartland (shout out to the Heartland Horde sub-group) then the major interstates that you’ll likely be traveling that lead to the DFW area are I-20, I-30, I-35, and I-45. The stadium itself is in Frisco (28 miles north of downtown Dallas) and is connected via the Dallas North Tollway (DNT). If you are staying east or west of Frisco, the Sam Rayburn Tollway (SH-121) runs along this direction and intersects Dallas North Tollway. If you are looking to stay off the tollway and travel parallel to it, use Preston Road (Texas State Highway 289) up to Main Street in Frisco. Accordingly, if you use the tollways in and around Dallas/Frisco you will be billed, even if you have out of state plates. For more info on the tollways check out the North Texas Tollway Authority website https://www.ntta.org/
GET AROUND
Rental Car:
Renting a car is pretty much a requirement for Dallas since there is very little public transit and NO PUBLIC TRANSIT TO THE STADIUM. Toyota Stadium is located 28 miles north of downtown in a suburb called Frisco. It is possible to stay in a hotel near the stadium but even then a rental car would be advisable to get to and from the airport and to and away from the stadium on game day.
Public Transit
Mass transit is literally impossible. Frisco does not have a mass transit system. The only public transit is in the immediate Dallas-Fort Worth area which is the DART rail and bus system. DART offers rail service from DFW Airport to downtown Dallas via the Orange Line. Rail service runs from downtown Dallas as far north as Plano which is still 20 miles (by car) to the stadium. For more info on DART check out their website (here is a link to the DART rail map). https://www.dart.org/maps/printrailmap.asp
Uber
The Dallas area has a lot of Uber drivers. I have utilized the Uber service in the DFW area and it’s a better alternative to a taxi but will still end up costing you more than a rental would cost. The “fare estimate” for downtown Dallas to the stadium is as low as $30 and averages around $48. The “fare estimate” for DFW airport to Toyota Stadium is around $30 up to $70. To check out more about Uber and see fare estimates go to this website. https://www.uber.com/fare-estimate/
SEE / DO
Dallas offers a surprisingly wide array of fun and interesting experiences, only a small number of which involve livestock.
Dallas
Sixth Floor Museum
Located in the former Texas School Book Depository, this museum chronicles the life and times of JFK as well as well as his assassination. http://www.jfk.org
Dallas Arts District
Home to several art museums, an opera, a symphony house, and a theater. Centrally located and offering about as much culture as Dallas can muster. http://www.thedallasartsdistrict.org/
Dallas Arboretum
Located on the southeast side of White Rock Lake and a perfect place to shake off the Seattle winter doldrums. http://www.dallasarboretum.org/
Dallas CityPass
So if the Sixth Floor Museum and Dallas Arboretum sound like a couple of things you might like to do then why not try the Dallas CityPass which includes admission to both as well as the iconic Reunion Tower (Observation deck) and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Much like Seattle’s CityPass (same company) this is the best value if you want to visit multiple attractions. http://www.citypass.com/dallas
Fort Worth
Ft. Worth Stockyards
Located in nearby Ft. Worth (think Tacoma to Seattle) the stockyards are a sprawling complex of rodeos, honky-tonks, and western wear shops. http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/
Arlington
AT&T Stadium
While most of us are NOT Cowboys fans and we love our CenturyLink field; if you’ve ever been to “Jerry World” you have to admit this place is pretty stunning. If you want an experience while in town, make the trip out to Arlington (20 miles west of downtown Dallas and approx. 40 miles from Frisco) and do an AT&T Stadium tour. You’ll have to check their website for “Blackout” dates and tour availability but you can buy tickets online. http://attstadium.com/tours
The Colony/Allen
TopGolf
I’m not the biggest fan of watching or even playing golf but I am a fan of TopGolf and I think they have something going for them. This Dallas-headquartered company has expanded to dozens of locations since opening its first location in the U.S. in 2005. The Dallas area now boasts 4 locations. The concept is that of a driving range except for imagine combining darts with golf. The premise is to wave your club in front of a sensor which dispenses a ball. Each ball is microchipped and after you hit the ball it tracks where the ball goes. The object is to hit the ball into different color-coordinated targets which are in the ground. TopGolf is hard to explain to first timers but it is a load of fun. Now couple TopGolf with a wide-variety of drink offerings (from craft beers to mixed drinks), food (from appetizers and snacks to burgers), and you have quite the fun experience in the making.
The Colony is a city about 5 miles from Frisco and offers the closest location (9 miles from the stadium) however in my experience the Allen location is the best venue. Allen is located 15 miles southeast of Frisco. Here are the links to both locations http://topgolf.com/us/the-colony/ http://topgolf.com/us/allen/
Frisco
National Videogame Museum
Looking for something a little closer to the stadium? Are you a gamer or perhaps you grew up in the 70s, 80s, or 90s in the “glory days” of video games? Well then you would definitely enjoy the National Videogame Museum, yes the NATIONAL museum for this is located in Frisco, Texas. It has an amazing display of all the gaming systems ever produced including prototypes and it even has many hands on displays. Many people’s favorite part is at the end of the museum where you get to play in the arcade and enjoy a lot of the “classics”. You get tokens as part of your admission but they have additional tokens for purchase for the avid arcade junkies. http://nvmusa.org/
EAT / DRINK
BBQ
The Dallas area is home to many legendary BBQ places, plan ahead because several of these places close when they run out of food for the day (and that happens quickly).
- Pecan Lodgehttps://www.yelp.com/biz/pecan-lodge-dallas-3
A destination that can legitimately claim to be the best BBQ in the world. If you're late (like, not in line when the bell rings...) you'll probably find yourself without food. This is a place where locals take those from out of town to show them good Texas BBQ. http://pecanlodge.com/ - Lockhart Smokehousehttps://www.yelp.com/biz/lockhart-smokehouse-dallas Order by the pound, no utensils, and meat so good that you won’t even need BBQ sauce (they do have sauce available though). They cut to order... so you can ask for brisket, extra bark, and light on the fat (for example). They have a location in downtown Dallas and one in Plano as well. Check their website for their menu, hours, and directions. http://www.lockhartsmokehouse.com/
- Hard Eight BBQhttps://www.yelp.com/biz/hard-eight-bbq-coppell
Sit on the outdoor deck, watch sports on the TV at a picnic table, drink draft beers, and come away smelling like BBQ. As you walk up to the line you will smell the BBQ from the parking lot and it will work up your appetite. There are two huge BBQ pits with all the assorted meats on them. You pick your selections a la carte and they are weighed individually and priced by the pound or half pound. I recommend the jalapeno sausage, brisket, and chicken or shrimp poppers which are wrapped in bacon. After selecting your meats you go inside and pick at the fixins (sides) that you want. Hard Eight opened a new location in The Colony in 2016 and it is only about 10 minutes from the stadium. The BEST location is in Coppell which is about 5-10 minutes from DFW airport. Check out their website for the menu, pricing, and the location and directions. http://www.hardeightbbq.com/
Tex-Mex/Mexican Food
After BBQ, Tex-Mex is the 2nd most popular cuisine in Texas. The Dallas area has several prestigious Tex-Mex chains and a few local places that rank as some of the best Tex-Mex in the entire state.
- La Hacienda Ranchhttps://www.yelp.com/biz/la-hacienda-ranch-frisco
Mariano Martinez was a Mexican-American high school dropout, however he was an entrepreneur and went on to invent the frozen margarita machine (who doesn’t love frozen margaritas?) and the La Hacienda Ranch restaurant chain. La Hacienda ranch uses the highest quality beef and chicken for their fajitas (my recommendation) and they have very good Tex-Mex dishes. With a location in Frisco just 5 minutes away from the stadium, LaHa (as it’s referred to by locals) is just the place to get Tex-Mex in Frisco. They also have locations in Dallas, Colleyville, North Dallas, Carrollton, and Arlington. https://www.laharanch.com/about-us/ - Meso Mayahttps://www.yelp.com/biz/meso-maya-dallas-4?osq=tex+mex+restaurants
Meso Maya is arguably the most popular Tex-Mex restaurant in Dallas and it is one of the highest rated on Yelp, TripAdvisor, and other social media sites. Meso Maya’s main location is in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas which is downtown. There are a few other locations as well so check their website to see which one is most convenient to you as the service and quality is pretty consistent among all locations. http://www.mesomaya.com/ - E Barhttps://www.yelp.com/biz/e-bar-dallas-2
E Bar Tex-Mex restaurant is located in Uptown Dallas. The food at E Bar is high quality but the prices aren’t reflective of a high-end restaurant so that makes E Bar one of the best value Tex-Mex restaurants in all of Dallas. Pair their amazing food with a great Happy Hour and drink specials and you have something special in E Bar. They only have one location which is in Uptown Dallas about 2.5 miles northeast of downtown. http://www.ebartexmex.com/
Other areas/places around Dallas:
Uptown Dallas
Get your fancy eat/drink on… Centered around McKinney Ave west of downtown and featuring restaurants like Shake Shack (made famous in NYC) this is where upscale Dallasites go to shop and eat. http://www.uptowndallas.net/
Deep Ellum
Get your not so fancy eat/drink on... Just north of downtown Dallas. Home to several tattoo parlors, barber shops, coffee shops, restaurants, a major local brewery (Deep Ellum Brewing), and a few concert venues. http://deepellumtexas.com/ http://www.deepellumbrewing.com/
Trinity Hall Irish Pub
Entirely mediocre, but the best place to catch early games from Europe; opens at 6:30 CST most Saturdays and Sundays. http://www.trinityhall.tv/
British Lion Pub
Located in Frisco adjacent to the parking lot (Red lot) for Toyota Stadium, this pub serves as the most obvious (and official) place to pre-func for Sounders fans before we march to the match. The British Lion Pub (formerly “The Londoner”)… the name may have changed but the service and beer selection have remained the same. They always welcome us when the Sounders are in town and we seem to have a good relationship with this place. Be aware this is an official Manchester City bar for City games so those take priority while those fixtures are on, any other time it’s your average soccer pub. http://www.thebritishlionpub.com/
SLEEP
There are very limited hotel options right near Toyota Stadium in Frisco. There are many hotels from major hotel chains in Frisco however they are not within walking distance but are a short drive to the stadium. The one hotel right by the stadium that is within walking distance to the pub and the stadium is the Comfort Suites Frisco. https://www.choicehotels.com/texas/frisco/comfort-suites-hotels/txa76
Staying closer to downtown Dallas will offer more opportunity to enjoy the rest of what Dallas has to offer. If your preference is for a certain chain hotel this can no doubt be accommodated.
Omni Hotel Dallas is immediately downtown and has become a part of the Dallas skyline and often displays graphics and light effects on the exterior of the building. Since it is located near Reunion Tower and the Convention Center it is in a popular area and is a bit more pricey than most chains but it is also one of the higher-rated hotel properties in Dallas. https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/dallas
The Joule, The Adolphus, and Magnolia hotels are all luxury hotels near one another in downtown Dallas. They offer a relatively unique experience. They are a bit more expensive, but often discount their rooms heavily.
http://www.thejouledallas.com/
http://www.magnoliahotels.com/dallas/magnolia-hotel-dallas.php
http://www.hoteladolphus.com/
MATCHDAY
Matchday festivities typically begin and end at the British Lion Pub in Frisco across the parking lot from the stadium, check with the travel monkeys and the trip thread to confirm. Parking is available for free at the stadium. Usually we meet up as a group to march over to the match. Dallas provides a security escort to lead us over to the stadium and through the gate.
GET HOME
With three points.
Want More Dallas tips? Check out wikitravel: http://wikitravel.org/en/Dallas