D-FW is adding to its growing list of soccer wins ahead of the 2026 World Cup. This time, The Colony’s mega entertainment complex, Grandscape, is the recipient of the victory.
TOCA Social, a gamified soccer experience similar to Dallas-based Topgolf, is bringing its blend of soccer entertainment mixed with bars to the unique venue. It’s set to open in the summer of 2025, one year before the World Cup kicks off over 30 miles west in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.
TOCA Social will offer five games where patrons attempt to hit targets with soccer balls to three differing levels of difficulty. Players will take their best shot in a box which they can rent for more than $10 per person. Each box can hold up roughly 12 people.
It will be TOCA’s first entertainment venue in the United States, adding to its list of already existing United Kingdom locations in London and Birmingham. But it won’t be the company’s first dive into the U.S.
TOCA already has 36 training and soccer centers throughout the country, including five in Texas and one less than 15 minutes up the road in The Colony. Even though those facilities are used for training prospective pro athletes, it makes the D-FW the perfect area to kick off its U.S. growth, said TOCA CEO Yoshi Maruyama.
“We have always identified Dallas and the metro area as a critical part of our growth strategy because of how vibrant the soccer community is,” he said. “The location was particularly attractive because it has proven itself to be very successful and is seen by the community as being a great, safe and welcoming entertainment hub. We have incredible partners and the access is incredible for these kinds of leisure projects.”
With Grandscape drawing approximately 20 million annual visitors, the ambition for the project was large from the very beginning. The space is anticipated to be around 27,000 to 28,000 square feet and will employ about 150 workers.
Maruyama declined to disclose exactly how much the facility will cost TOCA.
But it is his and TOCA’s ambition that drove it all the way to The Colony. Originally, it was supposed to be in the Design District. But plans fell through when the company’s vision outgrew the project, he said.
“To be really candid, we were really disappointed in our decision but it was the right one to make,” Maruyama said. “It was very difficult to get permits and approvals in a timely manner. We had a great location and landlord, but in order to meet our schedule for the World Cup, we had to pivot.”
Lucky for Maruyama and TOCA, both had begun looking at D-FW years ago and were already planning on opening a location in Grandscape. So moving its first location was a simple matter of shifting its strategy away from the Design District and going all in on Grandscape.
The company still has a good relationship with the landlord in the Design District and plans to grow more in D-FW, meaning it may make another run at that location in the future, Maruyama said.
“We believe that the Dallas metro area has the ability to support multiple TOCA Social venues. This is only one of many that we’re planning going forward,” he said.
TOCA is also coming off the 2022 high of closing a 10-year partnership deal with U.S.-based soccer league, Major League Soccer. On top of making the MLS a stakeholder in TOCA through financial support, it means MLS branding will also be plastered throughout the building.
The same technology, like TOCA’s proprietary pass delivery tool Touch Trainer, will be used at TOCA Social and TOCA’s professional training facilities. It’s a dream come true for TOCA founder and former MLS player Eddie Lewis.
“When I was a professional player trying to be my best, I used the same training philosophies and routines that TOCA uses now,” he said. “To see and celebrate TOCA players on the same field as the MLS All-Stars nearly 25 years later, I can’t even begin to describe how amazing it is.”
Beating the 2026 World Cup deadline was something not only Maruyama has had in mind, but The Colony, as well. The city has been one of many others like Frisco which have big plans ahead of the tournament, said Mariko Lanicek, The Colony’s convention and visitors bureau director.
“We’re excited about the World Cup shining a spotlight on everything the D-FW Metroplex has to offer soccer fans and visitors traveling here for the matches,” he said. “We love seeing the game’s growing enthusiasm leading up to 2026. As we get closer to the event, we’ll ramp up our marketing in the hopes of attracting soccer fans to our many restaurants and unique retail opportunities, and to stay in The Colony.”
It’s not just the MLS that is bullish about TOCA, FC Dallas has a partnership with the company and others have taken notice. MLS superstar Kellyn Acosta has taken a stake in the company and FC Bayern München Forward megastar Harry Kane previously partnered with the company.
As the company looks to more growth and the region continues to add to its soccer infrastructure, Maruyama said it’s only up from here for the budding soccer entertainment brand.
“It’s very important that we continue to make investments in our brand and in the Dallas metro area,” he said. “The big story here is that soccer will continue to grow. With partners like the MLS, we know this venue certainly won’t be the last we open.”
