Frisco Wants Dallas Cowboys HQ, Domed Stadium for High School Football

DALLAS — City and school district officials in Frisco, Texas are huddling Monday over a proposal to issue bonds for a new practice facility and headquarters for the Dallas Cowboys.

The development plan includes a domed football stadium that would be shared by the National Football League team and Frisco Independent School District.

The Cowboys would train and practice at the facility year around, and Frisco high schools would play football games there on fall weekends.

The stadium would hold at least 12,000 spectators for football games but the capacity could be expanded to more than 20,000 for concerts and special events.

The proposed football stadium would be the first indoor stadium of any Texas high school.

Frisco is about 20 miles north of downtown Dallas. Population is approximately 120,000.

Monday's lineup includes meetings by the Frisco City Council, Frisco Community Development Corp., Frisco Economic Development Corp., and Frisco school district trustees.

The panels will vote on a master development agreement with Blue Star Stadium Inc., Blue Star HQ Inc., and Blue Star Frisco LP. The companies were formed last month by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his family.

The City Council's agenda includes formation of an advisory committee in anticipation of a city bond election in May 2014. The Frisco school district is also considering a bond referendum in May, but no dollar amount has been determined.

The community development corporation's agenda action item stipulates the funding would come from its 0.5% sales tax and obligations issued by the city that are supported with sales tax revenues. Current revenues are approximately $11 million a year.

The Cowboys have trained at Valley Ranch in nearby Irving since 1985. The current training complex does not include an indoor practice facility or full-service team dining hall.

All parties involved in the proposal declined to address specifics before the meetings Monday night.

"We're very excited about these latest developments," said Frisco Mayor Maher Maso. "That said, it would be inappropriate for us to comment prior to any action taken by our City Council, and the boards of our other public partners."

Earlier this month Frisco formed "Frisco Is Sports" to attract and promote regional, statewide, and national sports events and sports-related meetings.

"We hope to create a legacy of community involvement and provide economic vitality for Frisco," Maso said.

Cowboys' spokesman Rich Dalrymple also declined to comment, but team owner Jones said he expects a decision late Monday.

"The protocol here is for the council to address it, the city leaders there," Jones said.

"The right thing for everybody concerned here is to let the council and the leadership look at everything, evaluate it, make their decision. And we will go from there," Jones said. "That's going to happen sooner rather than later."

The proposed location for the Cowboys facility is a 91-acre plot along the Dallas North Tollway.

City documents describe the site as "a sports complex for use for professional and amateur sports" that could include "facilities for a corporation's world headquarters."

The city already owns a 20,500-seat soccer stadium that is home to FC Dallas of Major League Soccer. It is also home to the offices and practice rinks of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League and a minor league baseball affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

Houston-based Hines Development Corp. recently announced it would build a large complex of offices, apartments, and retail spaces on 300 acres near the proposed Cowboys facility.

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