With a "bump in the budget and an eye on the end game," the Cowboys' new HQ and practice facility in Frisco -- dubbed the Ford Center at The Star -- is "on pace for an August opening," according to Valerie Wigglesworth of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The cost of the joint venture "now stands at more than" $255.5M, with the city of Frisco and its entities paying $60M and the Frisco Independent School District paying $30M. Remaining costs are "being picked up by the Blue Star companies," which are affiliated with Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones. The team's six-story HQ has a "working budget" of $80M. A "specialty retail, restaurant and entertainment district located south of the stadium will open in stages." The 16-story Omni Frisco Hotel -- "expected to be finished" in summer '17 -- will "include a city-owned convention center and connections" to the stadium and team HQ. The entire $1B development also will "feature a sports medicine center with Baylor Scott & White Health, a fitness center that includes the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders studio, an exclusive members-only Cowboys Club and lots of office space." Cowboys Exec VP & Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones Anderson said, "We’re doing a lot of things that we never actually did at Valley Ranch." Wigglesworth notes the cost for the public portion of the project "increased last month when the Frisco City Council OK’d several construction changes." The "most significant" change was a $3.4M increase to "add a glass facade on the stadium’s front." Jones Anderson said that several project announcements are "planned in the coming months," including "partners on the restaurant and retail side or opportunities for exclusive access" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/4).
SUBURBAN COMMANDOS: In N.Y., Ken Belson notes Blue Star Land, owned by Jerry Jones, is "building what will be the largest team headquarters in the league." The project, which sits on 91 acres, has thus far received a total of $115M from Frisco, and the city "considers its investment in the project a bargain because it drew a brand-name tenant in the Cowboys and the Jones family," which has committed more than $500M so far and "attracted other investors as well." It will also "cement the city’s reputation as a sports destination." When the Cowboys move to Frisco this summer, "every major pro sports team in the Dallas area will have a presence" there. Several teams, including the Rams, "have inquired about the project." Belson: "Whether they can replicate what the Cowboys are doing is unclear" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/4).
