Just before kicking off another football season in the coming weeks, the Dallas Cowboys set foundation to a new era in franchise history.
Cowboys executives, including owner and general manager Jerry Jones, and representatives of both the City of Frisco and the Frisco Independent School District officially broke down on the team’s new headquarters – which will serve not just as a facility for the Cowboys, but for FISD high school athletics.
The Cowboys had announced earlier this month their decision to move their headquarters from suburban Irving to suburban Frisco after winning an overwhelming approval for a $15 million development that includes an indoor stadium for practice and use by area prep teams.
Chief among the development will be a 12,000-seat facility, to be used for both Cowboys practices and Frisco high school athletics – including football, soccer and lacrosse.
“Like many of the new urban districts we are designing, this new Frisco facility is a model of shared uses. High school athletes will play on the same fields where their professional heroes train. There is a nice symmetry to that. Efficiencies in parking were realized because parking can be shared between office, retail and event centre users,” Eric Stultzis the design director for the Cowboys Headquarters writes about the new facility.
“But there’s more to the story than just sports. The Multi-Use Events Center will host a full complement of city and district events like graduations, concerts, rallies and conferences,” he adds.
In addition to the stadium and the team headquarters, the development will also feature office buildings and 150,000 square feet of retail space – expected to be ready by the fall of 2016. Offering a peek on the project, Stultzis writes: “The design is clean and contemporary incorporating materials like limestone, glass and metal panels. The limestone is the same stone used on the Cowboys’ existing facility and stadium — an intentional bow to tradition.”
“It will be a model of civic cooperation, vision and innovative thinking. It will provide a great alternative to downtown Dallas venues for the neighbouring community. If your kid is interested in playing football, a move to Frisco may be in your future,” he adds.