Dallas Cowboys Corporate Relocation to Frisco, Texas

Looking back on the quickly executed deal that brought the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters to Frisco, Rex Real Estate’s Matthew Kiran and Rex Glendenning tend to agree that while a light bulb moment got the ball rolling, putting together the vision was a complex task indeed.

They had been driving up the Dallas North Tollway, discussing bringing the Cowboys to Frisco, when Kiran suddenly pointed at an undeveloped tract. “There,” he said as they passed Warren Parkway, “Right there is where it needs to be.” “A lot of times, a conversation like that might happen, but rarely does it culminate with the success that followed,” Glendenning reflected.

Six months later in August, the Dallas Cowboys announced a corporate headquarters move to Frisco, to be located within a 91-acre entertainment and mixed-use district at the corner of the Dallas North Tollway and Warren Parkway. The massive project rests on the agreement between the Cowboys, the City of Frisco, and Frisco ISD, and was designed to include a multipurpose, 12,000 seat indoor stadium and two outdoor fields for use by the Cowboys, the city, and Frisco ISD’s football and soccer teams. The Cowboys new home also would serve as an anchor for a mixed-use district that included restaurants, retail, and hotel space.

“There had been components of this done in venues across the country,” Kiran said. ” … But this is the first time we’ve created a special entertainment district that revolved around an NFL team that has partnered with a municipality in a public-private deal, with a lifestyle-type mixed-use center.”

Before the concept was ever brought to light, however, Kiran and Rex Glendenning had a lot of work to do, including bringing in an outside land planner.

“‘We felt like it was important that we had visuals, both conceptual plans, and aerials,” Glendenning said. “I think that helped expedite the response and commitment from Frisco. We took it on our own time and nickel to prepare what we felt was the template of development for the project.”

After that, it was a salesmanship campaign- not Just to the Cowboys organization. but to every entity involved.

“We prepared what we thought was a great vision, and Matthew was able to get Frisco super excited and pumped about it,” Glendenning said. “We were able to continue to beat the drum from February to August.”

The partnership represents $115 million in public investment by the city and FISD. The Cowboys will be responsible for the maintenance and operations of the stadium complex.

Brought on board one by one were the city, school district, Economic Development Corp., and Frisco Community Development Corp.

“We had to sell each of those groups on the vision and commitment,” Glendenning said. “But rarely do you see a relationship between a city. an EDC, community development, and school district as refined and joined at the hip to get something accomplished as you do in Frisco.”

A recent economic impact analysis predicts an estimated $23.4 billion impact over a 30-year period and 4,500 new jobs by 2026. Ground for the development will likely be broken in May, with the game plan calling for the facility to open for training camps in July of 2016.

“That study applies to just the 91 acres; It doesn’t include the adjacent property,” said James Gandy, President of the Frisco Economic Development Corp.”

“It’s extremely exciting,” Gandy said. “How often does a community get a chance to land an NFL team? It’s a once­in-a-lifetime opportunity that we got very motivated about.”

In the world of public-private partnerships, it was not Frisco’s first rodeo; its multiple entities have teamed together for past projects.

“We were able to circle the wagons quickly and sit down and hammer out a deal; Gandy said. “It took some time through a series of meetings just to let everyone express their thoughts and ideas. We didn’t agree on every point, but at the end of the day, we were able to work all those out.”

Key Players:

Jack O’Brien, O’Brien Architects; Barry Knight, Winstead PC; Bob Roeder, Abernathy, Roeder, Boyd & Joplin PC; Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys; Stephen Jones, Dallas Cowboys; Jerry Jones Jr., Dallas Cowboys; David Frey, Dallas Cowboys; Joo Hickman, Blue Star Land; George Mitchell, Blue Star Land; Matthew Kiran, REX Real Estate; Rex Glendenning, REX Real Estate; Mayor Maher Maso, City of Frisco; Jeremy Lyon, Frisco ISO; Richard Wilkinson, Frisco ISD; George Purefoy, City of Frisco; Ron Patterson, City of Frisco; Gery Carley, Frisco Community Development Corporation; James L. Gandy, Frisco Economic Development Corporation; Kimley Horn and Associates; Manhattan,1 Construction Company; Gensler; Frisco Economic Development Corporation; Lincoln Property Company: City of Frisco: REX Real Estate; The Dallas Cowboys