The Dallas Cowboys are on pace to open Ford Center at the Star—their new Frisco training facility—in August. The Cowboys are planning on moving to Frisco with a new training complex, and announced a new sports medicine complex in partnership with Baylor Scott & White Health. Both will be located at The Star, the 91-acre campus that will house all things Cowboys.
According to the Dallas Morning News Frisco blog, the sports medicine complex is slated to open in 2017 and will include an ambulatory surgical center, advanced diagnostic imaging, outpatient rehab, physical therapy, concussion assessment and treatment, pharmacy, and physicians’ offices. These will all be open to the public as well and will be at least 200,000 square feet.
The Star complex itself is expected to open this August with the jewel being the 12,000-seat indoor stadium which will not only house the Cowboys but all eight of Frisco’s high school teams. Some of the other unique aspects to the complex includes The Cowboys Club at The Star, a country club that allows members to watch practices, talks given by coaches and players, billiards rooms, and a private rooftop swimming pool for the price of a $4,500 flat rate plus $350 a month, and a 16-story Omni hotel that adjoins the Cowboys practice facility.
The whole complex is estimated to cost $1.5 billion. Part of that will be paid for by the City of Frisco and Frisco Independent School District (ISD) and because the schools are involved, the Cowboys have made some changes to the indoor stadium to accommodate high school bands and will display student artwork in the stadium.
The team had its last practice at the Valley Ranch headquarters in Irving this week. Valley Ranch has been the Dallas Cowboys headquarters for the past 31 years, and has seen greats like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin. However, this won’t be the first time a team has left Valley Ranch. The NHL’s Dallas Stars previously had practice facilities there but moving their headquarters to Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco. The former hockey facilities are now the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Irving. Dr Pepper Arena also houses the headquarters for the North American Hockey League and the Texas Legends, the Dallas Mavericks affiliate in the NBA Development League.
With the Cowboys move, Frisco now has representatives from every major Dallas-Fort Worth pro team in the city. Time will tell how the Cowboys fit into the community but from the looks of it, it will be beneficial for all involved.
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