There’s a new version of “Friday Night Lights” coming to Frisco, Texas, courtesy of the Dallas Cowboys and the local community.
The 12,000-seat indoor stadium planned for the Cowboys’ new headquarters and practice facility will see heavy use by the Frisco Independent School District, the team’s partner in the development.
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Rendering of the atrium in the Cowboys’ planned headquarters
Photo by: COURTESY OF DALLAS COWBOYS
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When it opens for the 2016 football season, the stadium will play host to multiple prep games on weekends in an affluent, rapidly expanding suburb north of Dallas. The city’s website says its population is 144,000, up from just 6,000 in 1990 and 116,000 in 2010.
It’s growing so fast that city officials expect to build one new high school a year over the next decade, said Cowboys’ executive Stephen Jones.
At that point, Frisco will essentially have its own conference playing games at the stadium, said Ron Turner, director of sports and entertainment for Gensler, the architect designing the facility.
The city needed a new stadium and reached out to the Cowboys to form a partnership, Jones said.
“We cut a deal and decided to move everything else out there as well,” he said. “We got a nice incentive package from Frisco. It gives us another touch point with the population growth up north.”
The Cowboys had interest from other cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to build their new headquarters and practice facility, including Irving, where the team has had its corporate base since 1985.
But Frisco stood out for its offer to partner with the school district, a big part of the Cowboys’ marketing platform as they continue to build their fan base throughout the Metroplex, Jones said.
It’s a strong connection and an attractive one for Frisco residents. During the week, as high school football players arrive for afternoon practice at the stadium, they could potentially bump into Cowboys stars finishing practice, Jones said.
Beneath the stands along the east sideline will be locker rooms and some training equipment dedicated to the high schools’ needs. The west side, devoted to the Cowboys, has more extensive strength and conditioning facilities, meeting rooms and an auditorium.
The main entrance will be on the south side, along with retail space and a fitness center, as well as a direct connection to the Omni Hotel next door, Turner said. The stadium will also feature a Texas high school sports hall of fame.
Separately, the Frisco development will include a public medical facility to handle surgery for high school athletes as well as for Cowboys players who suffer injuries on site. “It’s a great fit for Frisco, the fastest-growing city in the country,” Jones said.
