City, school district and Dallas Cowboys officials symbolically break ground on a multi-use events facility and Cowboys headquarters Aug. 22.[/caption]The city of Frisco, Frisco ISD and the Dallas Cowboys broke ground Aug. 22 on the new Cowboys headquarters and multiuse events facility.
City, school district and Dallas Cowboys officials have stressed that the new events facility at the Cowboys headquarters will not just be for the NFL team.
That point was highlighted again during the groundbreaking ceremony at which sophomores from various Frisco ISD schools represented the first senior class that will have the chance to use the multiuse stadium and events center.
"We keep coming across opportunity after opportunity where the work of the city, the work of the school district, the work of the Cowboys organization all intersect for possibilities for our students," FISD Superintendent Jeremy Lyon said.
The $115 million headquarters and stadium/event facility is funded by the city of Frisco, the Frisco Community Development Corp., the Frisco Economic Development Corp. and Frisco ISD. The Cowboys are leasing the stadium, and Frisco ISD and the city will have the use of the stadium for sports and other events.
Construction on the headquarters and events facility is expected to be complete in 2016.
Frisco Mayor Maher Maso said it is not yet determined how the city will use the facility, but FISD plans to use the facility for events such as sports games, band competitions and commencement ceremonies.
Raegan Kappler, a sophomore and soccer player at Heritage High School, said she is excited to use the new facility.
"I think it's a great opportunity just to be there senior year," she said. "[It's the] last year. It's going to be really, really fun."
The headquarters and event center are being called a "centerpiece" to what will eventually be a multiuse development with retail, restaurants and housing.
Stephen Jones, Dallas Cowboys executive vice president, has dubbed the development the "Live, Work and Play Project." He said the development team has met with some interesting prospects that Frisco residents would be thrilled to have.
Right now the development concept includes more than 1.24 million square feet of office space, 418,000 square feet of retail space and 50,500 square feet of restaurant space. Two hotels with a total of 480 rooms also are planned.
Maso said the development speaks for itself, that it is "everything Frisco." As one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, Frisco has become a quality city because of partnerships like the one with the Dallas Cowboys, he said.
"We really try to add things that add value for long-term sustainability or financial sustainability and really structural sustainability," he said. "This project adds jobs, adds a venue. It's a destination."
The development is expected to bring in 4,500 new jobs to Frisco by its completion in 2026. It is also expected to bring in $1.26 billion in tax revenue over a 30-year period, according to a study by Insight Research Corp.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said while planning for the development, he caught the "Frisco flu," which he described as the idea to do more and to do things bigger.
"When we sit down and look at it and we say, 'You know something, boy, that's a lot more than we thought we were going to do,'" he said. "But you know what, this isn't a dress rehearsal. We don't have but one time to go around. Let's do it the right way."
