We Are On a Frisco High: First Look at the Dallas Cowboys New Indoor Training Facility

Update: Frisco agent Jlyne Hanback writes to tell me that the eighth high school to open in Frisco will be named “Reedy”, after former Frisco Superintendent Rick Reedy. I had him originally as “Reddy”. That’s what you get when you don’t google everything — thanks much for the correction!

My buddy Brad Holden up in Frisco must have some mighty fine friends in the right places. He’s the guy who told me weeks ago that the Dallas Cowboys would be shedding their Valley Ranch digs and moving north to Frisco, specifically, to a new Cowboys training facility at Frisco Station. That’s the northwest intersection of the Dallas North Tollway and Warren Parkway, where Brad said Houston-based Hines Development had plans for 4.5 million square feet of office, 40 acres of retail space, 2 hotels (1 full service and 1 limited service) and single family homes with apartments and town homes added to the mix.

That will also be home to the Dallas Cowboy’s new training base!

Once the indoor facility is built, they will SHARE the complex with the Frisco Independent School District! And this, says Brad, will only make Frisco rule more as a sports nirvana, bringing in large tournaments, playoff games, possibly even bowl games. Target opening date: 2016.

Well, now he’s got photos and more dirt. The Dallas Cowboys new Indoor Training Facility in Frisco, Texas plans to seat a minimum of 12,000 fans for games, says Brad. The practice facility will also be a multi-use facility that can be refigured to accommodate 22,000 seats for other events like concerts.

Current plans are that the Frisco ISD will have use of the facility on Thursday and Friday evenings for football games. As the first school district in the state with an indoor stadium, it will also be an attractive destination for “Blue Star Stadium” to host potential Texas playoff games as well. As a former football mom, I can only imagine how happy those Frisco football moms are — no more freezing games, no more mud caked cleats!

The Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile, will once again have an indoor facility for practice in inclement or freezing weather. Surprisingly, the Dallas Cowboys mentioned that the Frisco Independent School District will have first use of the facility when there is a need. That could be because funding is coming from the citizens of Frisco.

The $115 million deal is funded by the city of Frisco, Frisco ISD, the Frisco Economic Development Corp. and the Frisco Community Development Corp. It spells out what will be built on 91 acres owned by the Frisco Community Development Corp. at Warren Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway.

That comes from Valerie Wigglesworth over at The Dallas Morning News. Here are details of the deal from her report:

-Frisco will oversee design and construction of the stadium and parking facilities while the Dallas Cowboys will oversee design and construction of their headquarters.

-The Cowboys will have the exclusive right to name the stadium and select sponsors for the facilities in it.

-The stadium must have a master scoreboard with full video replay capabilities, a professional-quality sound system, an NFL-approved playing field with synthetic turf, a press box, broadcast booths for radio and TV, accommodations for at least two coaching booths, one ring of suite seating and-or a club seating area with armchair seats, and an NFL-quality training room.

-The Cowboys will employ at least 150 full-time employees in Frisco and pay Frisco an annual lease payment of at least $100,000.

–Any sponsor naming rights and revenue from parking fees will be shared between the Cowboys and the city.

-A tax increment financing district will be created on the 66 acres being purchased by the Blue Star companies to fund a separate $20 million parking structure on that acreage.

-Frisco ISD will have exclusive use of the stadium between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays during football season, on Saturdays during the postseason, a day in May for the district’s pin ceremony and a Friday and Saturday in June for graduation ceremonies.

-The district will also have the opportunity to use the stadium for soccer, band competitions or other events as scheduling allows around team use.

-The city of Frisco will have the right to use the stadium up to six times a year for various events as scheduling allows.

Brad says there are currently six schools in the Frisco ISD. A seventh will be added in 2014, Independence High School (nice name) and an eighth in 2015 in West Frisco called Reedy High School. (I like Independence better.) The district currently uses two stadiums for Frisco high school games, Frisco ISD Memorial Stadium and the FC Dallas Stadium. And they will need a third.

But, instead of the school district building a whole new stadium to accommodate the addition of Independence and Reedy high School, Frisco ISD officials decided it was smarter to enter a joint venture with the Dallas Cowboys. It will be similar to the district’s arrangement with FC Dallas. The new Dallas Cowboys Training facility will include all the bells and whistles that come with a Texas high school football stadium, including locker rooms and a scoreboard. Smarter? This is like Mensa genius!

“Above is another concept plan that was included in the economic impact report done for the Frisco Economic Development Corporation on the Cowboys project. The plans are not set in stone. As shown on the plan, the sports complex is parcels 1 & 2, the corporate headquarters will be parcel 6, and the mixed use development is parcels 3-5 and 7-9.”

Thanks Brad!