On March 15, Cary Hardy took to YouTube to tell pinball enthusiasts why they needed to come to Frisco, Texas.
Thevideo, featuring 10 reasons, had 852 views and 63 likes in 10 hours.
TPF 2023 is next week! So many reasons to visit - but I narrowed it down to 10.
With a row of pinball machines glowing behind him, Hardy described the vendors, presenters, attractions and the hundreds of pinball machines set to free play that will be at the Texas Pinball Festival to be held March 24-26.
“There has never been this many new games at a pinball expo or convention. Period,” Hardy said. “And the chances are, this will never happen again.”
The festival is slated to once again come to the Embassy Suites Hotel & Frisco Conference Center. It’s signature event that — except for two years in the midst of a pandemic — has been hosted in Frisco since 2014.
“It’s an amazing event,” said Marla Roe, director of Visit Frisco. “It’s really unique, and I think it really attracts people that are hardcore pinballers, but also, you know, just families and people that are interested in seeing that setup and how many there are, and having a little fun to free play and all.”
The event also brings a significant impact to the city itself — while the event is hosted at the Embassy Suites location, three or four other hotels are used in the midst of the festival, she said. That results in well over 1,000 hotel room nights and an economic impact of over $800,000.
“So it’s a lot. That’s a big event,” she said. “And we’re so glad they’re here, and I think it’s just a fun one to promote, because they always try and do something a little bit unique each year.”
This year’s event will include a showing and Q&A session with Roger Sharpe about his new movie, “PINBALL: The Man Who Saved The Game.” The event will also include seminars with pinball designers and artists, a raffle, tournaments and more.
And the impact doesn’t stay inside the hotels. The festival has partnered with the National Videogame Museum, also located in Frisco, to provide a discount to Texas Pinball Festival wristband holders. The museum will offer free shuttle rides on the Saturday of the event.
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Audrey Henvey is the reporter for the Frisco Enterprise, McKinney Courier-Gazette and Celina Record. Email her with story suggestions at ahenvey@starlocalmedia.com.
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