Cowboys move into glitzy new Star; can they live up to it?
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, his family and dignitaries from the city of Frisco, the Frisco school district and the Ford Motor Co. officially broke ground Sunday on the team’s new world headquarters and indoor practice facility.
Prince’s Baby I’m a Star blared in the background.
Of that, there is no question.
The Star in Frisco is an exceptional and glitzy attraction with no equal.
“This is an historic day for the Dallas Cowboys,” said a proud Jones before opening the doors to the 12,000-seat Ford Center, the team’s new indoor practice facility that will also serve as the stadium home to the Frisco high school teams.
This is unbelievable. State of the art. First time for me to really see it. I mean, words can’t describe it. It’s an unbelievable facility.
Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten
The Cowboys players practiced there for the first time Sunday while also getting a first look at their new locker room, weight room, meeting rooms and dining hall. The new Cowboys headquarters cost more than $260 million as part of a $1.5 billion project.
“This is unbelievable,” tight end Jason Witten said. “State of the art. First time for me to really see it. I mean, words can’t describe it. It’s an unbelievable facility. That’s just the Jones family. That’s what they’re all about.”
It’s not just the top of the line and state-of-the-art amenities and equipment that make The Star special. There are also pieces of the team’s rich history and tradition dotted throughout the facility.
The Nike walkway features every uniform worn in team history, as well as the top five moments in Cowboys history. An original fedora worn by legendary coach Tom Landry is under glass in the fancy new dining hall.
Outside the new draft war room are scouting reports on Hall of Famers Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith.
And, of course, there are pictures of Ring of Honor members, Hall of Famers as well as replicas of the five Super Bowl trophies and accompanying Super Bowl rings.
“I think everything is pretty cool,” coach Jason Garrett said. “They’ve done an amazing job putting this place together, and it does not surprise me or anybody else who’s been around the Joneses at all to see this place. They just do everything in such a first-class manner.
“We see that in our stadium. We’re so fortunate to play in what we believe is the best stadium in the world. And we believe this is as good a facility as there is. We try to express that to every player, and they didn’t need much convincing. They understand what this place is all about.”
The goal is to help the Cowboys win, and this facility certainly puts the franchise a step ahead in helping Garrett prepare his players.
The team meeting room has 152 leather chairs with pull-out tables arranged in a movie-theater-style setting.
The locker room, built in the shape of a football, is bigger and more spacious. It also comes with leather seats.
The gigantic weight room with all new equipment has its own small turf field.
And this facility comes with its own HyrdroWorx 2000, where injured players can run or walk on an underwater treadmill complete with cameras to see a player’s stride. The Cowboys had to use the Dallas Mavericks’ hydrotherapy machine in the past.
“Everything is here to make your life easier and give you the best chance to be successful,” Witten said. “That’s what cutting edge is all about. I haven’t seen everything, but when you look at it, it gives us the best chance to go be successful, then you have to go and do it. They’ve done that with everything from the treadmill in the water to the weight room and all of the facilities.”
I feel like I’m a tourist here right now. Just trying to figure out the lay of the land and find my way around.
Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden
Every player walked into the facility Sunday with wide eyes and dropped jaws. And that’s when they weren’t getting lost.
“I can tell you walking in, I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it,” quarterback Tony Romo said on one side of the room.
Running back Darren McFadden added: “I feel like I’m a tourist here right now. Just trying to figure out the lay of the land and find my way around.”
Garrett purposely altered the schedule Sunday to allow the players to come in and get acclimated before getting back on the practice field and in training-camp mode for the afternoon practice.
As nice as the facility is, it actually puts more pressure on the team to live up to its star-studded standard.
What made the team’s old facility at Valley Ranch in Irving special was that it was the home to three Super Bowl title teams and six Hall of Fame players.
“This locker room is phenomenal,” cornerback Orlando Scandrick said. “It’s huge. It’s big, it’s state of art. This is nice opposed to where we came from. But to me this symbolizes you got to win. This doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win. This will be somebody else’s building, this will be somebody else’s locker soon if we don’t win football games.”
Said Witten: “The great thing about Valley Ranch over all those years were the championships those guys formed and won. That’s what makes it a special place to be a part of. That’s what you want to create here. All of this is great, but then you have to go and take the next step and that is win football games.”
At the end of the Cowboys’ locker room at The Star, a huge sign has the words, “No Excuses.”
On the dawning of The Star in Frisco, that’s the case now more than ever.
Clarence Hill: 817-390-7760, @clarencehilljr
This story was originally published August 21, 2016 at 8:29 PM with the headline "Cowboys move into glitzy new Star; can they live up to it?."