The official sport of Texas may be rodeo, but groups will find plenty of exciting options to wrangle throughout the state—VIP stadium tours to esports competitions.
Here’s a look at the hottest happenings in two sizzling cities in Texas.
Frisco
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently dropped the idea of spending another $38 million bucks on a new Cowboys development, this time a 195-acre stretch of land for merchandising—like it’s hot. The news comes at the heels of the ribbon cutting for another of Jones’ projects, a 91-acre sports and entertainment district, The Star, which debuted earlier this year here in Frisco, one of the sportiest cities in Texas.
The Star marks the spot of the team’s world headquarters, where the Cowboys practice and where a steady stream of sports events regularly happen, thanks to the 10,000-seat Ford Center. A 16-story, 300-room Omni hotel was recently added to the mix as the official hotel of the football team, and with that comes everything from a new rooftop pool and creative dining to 24,000 sf of meeting space—all designed to stoke Cowboys mania 365 days a year.
The Star campus is full of must-dos for visiting meetings groups. When they’re not meeting at the Ford Centers’ myriad event spaces—including the Dallas Cowboys War Room where the NFL draft takes place and the Grand Atrium with its Italian marble floors and dancing LED-lit sculptures—sports enthusiasts will appreciate a behind the scenes VIP tour of the center where they may very well rub elbows with some of the team’s players. The new Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research Center brings wellness to the campus, sometimes, in the form of tailgate parties that combine free medical assessments by medical sports professionals with signed footballs, food and drop-ins by the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Christina Miller, director of sales for Visit Frisco, also gives The Star her star of approval. “If attendees had only a couple of hours to explore they should definitely visit The Star. Jones spent more money on that the new AT&T Stadium in Arlington.”
As for Jones’ merchandising project, it’s still taking shape. Check back with us soon for more details.
Arlington
Forty miles away in the Arlington Entertainment District, one of the most vibrant cities in Texas will soon debut the new Globe Life Field baseball stadium as the official stomping grounds of the Texas Rangers. The district will connect the stadium to Six Flags, AT&T Stadium and Texas Live!, a $250 million entertainment district with a convention center. Groups of up to 5,000 can meet in its outdoor event pavilion, Arlington Backyard, which also features a customizable 100-ft media wall for events.
The district offers attendees much to do in their downtime—sports bars and celebrity chef-led restaurants to interactive gaming. A new 300-room Live! by Loews-Arlington hotel will open next year as an upscale option for meetings groups, complete with an infinity-edge pool, event lawn and outdoor beer garden. This is what Marcela Ceccacci, director of sales and marketing for the property, is most excited about. “It’s going to be great. The district is a great fit for Loews.”
In other news, the new $10 million Esports Stadium Arlington will open Thanksgiving weekend in the district for up to 2,000, claiming a piece of the global esports market’s 493 million-dollar pie. The stadium transforms the Arlington Convention Center to include a Competition Arena, Esports Gallery and Production Studio for live events and video content creation.
Arlington convention-goers looking to explore this and more can now hop on a free, self-driving shuttle with Drive.ai. The company just launched an on-demand ride-hailing service that deploys a fleet of autonomous vehicles between fixed pick-up and drop-off points, including the Arlington Convention Center, AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Park.
