After three years of planning, budgeting and construction, The Star had a successful opening day on Saturday as it hosted four Frisco ISD high school football games throughout the day.

“This is such an exciting day, I can’t believe it’s here after three years,” Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones Anderson said. “To see the excitement in the kids faces and the players out here, the dream is coming true.”

“To look out there and see these Frisco high schools, participating and being a part of the Ford Center, it’s the foundation of The Star, the Ford Center and our relationship with the Frisco Independent School District,” Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Stephen Jones said.

Whether students attend a football game, graduation or a dance or marching competition, The Star serves as a multipurpose stadium that will be used by Frisco ISD students for years to come.

“We are so excited by the opportunities we have here for all kinds of events and activities but it also fulfills a need we have as a school district for that third stadium,” Frisco ISD Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Lyon said. “In the opening today, what you see is the future for the next 30, 40, 50 years of where you and your classmates and then all future generations of kids are going to be playing, participating, marching, doing all kinds of things so we are excited.”

Frisco Mayor Maher Masso says that the Ford Center will attract more than just a Friday night crowd.

“This is an opportunity,” Masso said. “I’ve received notes from parents all over the country thinking about moving here because of the opportunities this opens.”

And while the Ford Center contributes to the growth of Frisco, Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, says that it has only strengthened the relationship between the people of Frisco ISD and the Dallas Cowboys.

“The entire area of Frisco is family because it’s been that kind of joint venture,” Jones said. “To have Frisco place that kind of faith in it is just inspiring and I want you to know when we started this, I thought I was not going to spend the kind of money I spent but because of you, because of the project, because of just how it has evolved, I not only made a much bigger commitment than I thought, but I’m proud of every penny and I’m proud of what it’s going to mean to Frisco and its future.”