Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones: CRE Is A Contact Sport, So Football Players Fit Right In
The Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones and 91 acres of vibrant mixed-use real estate. What more can one development ask for? Dr Pepper, of course.
Developed by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the city of Frisco, The Star in Frisco is the world headquarters of America's team. Thursday it broke ground on a new headquarters for Keurig Dr Pepper.
The Star also is a type of commercial real estate mecca for Cowboys. It is already home to commercial real estate firm ESRP, which formerly was associated with Hall of Fame Cowboys player Emmitt Smith, and is the current employer of retired Cowboys player Darren Woodson.
Beyond the direct connection to The Star, when Cowboys retire, they seem to end up in commercial real estate. There's Roger Staubach, of course, and even Tony Romo headlined the International Council of Shopping Centers' big conference this week.
So is Jones recruiting them?
Not directly, but Jones believes ball players and commercial real estate careers go together like football and Dr Pepper.
"I have been in commercial real estate ever since my college graduation, and it's an exciting area," Jones told Bisnow. "It's very competitive. It's a contact sport; it doesn't surprise me that these ball players engage in it and are good at it. I know that it's certainly made a lot of good things possible for me.
"It is rewarding because you get to meet so many people, so the whole area is a place that I can recommend for any of our players. Emmitt [Smith] is involved in it just to name one. But many of our players are involved in real estate."
Jerry's Thirst Is Finally Quenched
The Keurig Dr Pepper groundbreaking scratches an itch Jones has had for years.
Jones once joked America's favorite football team desperately needed a marquee beverage company, perhaps a beer manufacturer, to serve as the Cowboys' official brand ambassador or marketing partner. Jones told a crowd at Thursday's groundbreaking he went as far as brainstorming the idea with business associates.
Nothing transpired right away or in the way Jones had planned.
But, from Jerry's lips to God's ears, Jones eventually landed the coveted beverage partner. He just did it in a different way: through his career as a commercial real estate developer.
Once the facility is complete in 2021, more than 1,000 Keurig Dr Pepper employees — many of whom are still working at the company's former Plano headquarters — will relocate to a 350K SF building adjacent to the Cowboys headquarters. The office is one of two Keurig Dr Pepper headquarters nationwide.
Keurig Dr. Pepper brings something else to Frisco with its move: It is the first Fortune 500 company to relocate to Frisco, Mayor Jeff Cheney said Thursday.
And though his attention gets shared with the team and the energy industry, Jones said he isn't slowing down on commercial real estate.
"There's a lot of room right here at The Star, and we have really several places where we are active here in North Texas," Jones said.
"We have been developing projects for several years, and it's just great to be a part of such a vibrant, economic, stable vibrant area. It's great to have a place on the team that can help build it, and that's the way I look at the Cowboys, The Star and anything else that we're doing."
