The Dallas Cowboys formally announced Tuesday they are moving their headquarters from suburban Irving to suburban Frisco after winning overwhelming approval for a $115 million development that includes an indoor stadium for practice and use by area prep teams.
Accompanied by cheerleaders and city officials, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his son, executive vice president Stephen Jones, made a quick trip home from training camp in Oxnard, Calif., to celebrate Frisco officials. The multi-use sports facilities, which will be shared with Frisco Independent School District's sports teams, are expected to open in 2016.
"Frisco is a city (where) they think big and they act bold. They have a vision, and they act on it," said Stephen Jones. "It gives us great comfort to do business with people who think like this."
The stadium will be paid for mostly through a city sales tax, with the school district funding part of the construction. The deal, which was approved late Monday, calls for the Cowboys to manage the facilities and pay operating costs.
School district officials said they were already planning on building a football stadium before singing onto this private-public deal.
"We could in no way duplicate a stadium of this caliber on our own, spending the same amount for construction," said Jeremy Lyon, Frisco ISD's superintendent.
Lyon said the partnership will save taxpayers money in the long run by splitting costs after the stadium is open.
Frisco is already the home of the FC Dallas of Major, League Soccer, a minor league affiliate of baseball's Texas Rangers and the training facility for hockey's Dallas Stars. It is about 30 miles north of Dallas and Frisco -- and about 45 miles from AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
"We had the opportunity to visit with several cities in the North Texas area about changing our training center, but this has everything to do with the positives with Frisco," Jerry Jones said.
John Classe, a board member with the city who voted for the deal, said FC Dallas had a similar deal to what the Cowboys are getting, with the city funding its stadium but leaving leasing and management costs to the team.
"Just like that deal, it's anticipated that the Cowboys will put more money into the facility above and beyond the city's commitment," Classe said. "Therefore we will end up with a nicer facility."
The 91-acre development includes 25 acres for the Cowboys' facilities, while the remaining 66 acres will be used for stores, restaurants and a luxury hotel. According to city officials, the development will generate $1.26 billion in tax revenue with an estimated economic impact of $23.4 billion over the next 30 years.
"We know that many of the great things that we'll be seeing out here, we're not even aware of them yet," Frisco Mayor Maher Maso said. "We're going to be inventing them."
This deal ends a four-decade relationship between the Cowboys and Irving.
NBC 5's Kevin Cokely contributed to this report.
