FRISCO, Texas– As the days tick closer to their official move-in date, the Cowboys continue to demonstrate the enormous benefits of their new home at The Star.
As if the organization's new headquarters and 12,000-seat indoor stadium – both set to open later this summer – weren't impressive enough, the Cowboys continue to reveal new amenities that are sure to push The Star to the forefront of the NFL landscape.
Earlier this year, there was the announcement of the Omni Frisco Hotel, a 300-room development being built adjacent to The Ford Center at The Star, set to open in 2017.
This past week, Cowboys officials and their partners with Baylor Scott & White broke ground on another development set for early 2018 – and it's groundbreaking in its own right. Joining the 91-acre, mixed-use development will be a first-of-its-kind sports medicine facility, to be named Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research at The Star.
"Baylor Scott & White, in my mind, are the premier – not only in health care but in prevention future – that we have in Texas, and one of the tops in the nation," said Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones on Wednesday.
The new medical facility will focus on injury prevention, research and wellness for athletes of all levels, and it will include an ambulatory surgery center, diagnostic imaging, a sports performance program, an urgent care center, outpatient rehabilitation, a pharmacy and more, provided by Baylor Scott & White Health and its affiliates.
"We wanted to find a partner that could help us create a center of excellence where you could experience state-of-the-art care for sports medicine and orthopedics. Baylor Scott & White Health is that partner," said Cowboys executive vice president Jerry Jones Jr. "They're a natural partner for this venture and their reputation and their qualifications speak for themselves."
The $100 million facility will obviously serve the members of the Dallas Cowboys, who will call The Star home – but its reach will extend far beyond that. The services on hand will also be available to the public, not to mention athletes of all levels. As part of its focus on player safety and wellness, the center will feature a concussion assessment and management program, which will provide for a concussion specialist to be on hand on the sideline of every Frisco Independent School District high school game played at The Ford Center.
"With a focus on preventing injuries and keeping people healthy, the goal of Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research at The Star is to make North Texas the safest place in the country to play sports," said Joel Allison, President and CEO, Baylor Scott & White Health. "This initiative is a perfect complement to Baylor Scott & White's broader strategy of serving communities, with a focus on overall health and wellness."
Added Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones: "It resonated with me and gave me goosebumps when they said we want this to be the safest place for an athlete to play football, right here in Frisco. That's certainly our goal. We want that for our players, we want it for our young athletes."
Upon completion, the facility will also feature an imaging program, a sports performance program, an urgent care center and outpatient rehabilitation.
"We are paving the way for a new age in health and safety for athletes," Jones Jr. said. "Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy and Research at The Star will become the standard-bearer for innovating and improving future sports on a global level."
In addition to helping advance the impact of sports medicine, the partnership also puts the Cowboys in position for unique opportunities in the future. The presence of a medical facility on the Cowboys' campus puts them in position to possibly host the NFL Combine at some point in the future – as mentioned earlier this week.
It all adds up to just another way the Cowboys are positioning themselves at the forefront of the sports landscape.
"Where we've had our best success is when we've aligned with entities that have a future. We did that here in Frisco relative to the school system. We've done it with Omni," Jerry Jones said. "But this is a great opportunity, because it's so sensitive and adventurous to be working toward safety – in football, of course, but in sports. We're aligned perfectly in terms of our goals."
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