New fun things to do in Frisco (tours of The Star!), plus what's coming up

Frisco is booming. The new Dallas Cowboys' headquarters west of the Dallas North Tollway on Warren Parkway is part of a 91-acre, $1.5 billion development known as The Star in Frisco. Tours of The Star are starting soon, and we've also rounded up some new entertainment spots in Frisco to check out and look forward to.

Tours of The Star in Frisco

Have you been curious about what the Cowboys' new digs are like? See them for yourself. (Note that while the Ford Center and the team's headquarters are open, much of the rest of the development is still under construction.) Guided tours of The Star begin Jan. 9. Twenty public tours will operate daily, every 30 minutes between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. The entire tour takes an hour and 15 minutes. The tour's route is also subject to change, depending on the team's schedule and events planned at the Ford Center.

Tour stops will generally include:

• The 510,000-square-foot Ford Center, where the Cowboys train and high school athletes compete.
• The team's War Room, which has a fully interactive video wall where the NFL draft will be done.
• A collection of memorabilia from all five Super Bowl championships.
• The Nike Star Walk, which highlights 10 milestones in Cowboys history and shows the evolution of the Dallas Cowboys uniform beginning in 1960.
• Visitors will also see the grand atrium in the team's headquarters building that features artist Leo Villareal's LED sculpture titled Volume Frisco (2016).

Tickets are $32.50 for adults and $27.50 for kids, seniors and those with a valid military ID. Group tours for 10 or more are also available at $25 per person. Tours offered in Spanish and American Sign Language will be made available upon request. 972-497-4720. To purchase tickets, visit the Ford Center ticket window or thestarinfrisco.com/tours.

What's coming up at The Star

Ice cream, tacos and Chinese cuisine are just a few of the things you'll be able to find in early 2017 at the Dallas Cowboys' headquarters in Frisco, which is shaping up to be a dining hot spot. The Star will be home to nearly 20 restaurants plus a bowling alley.

They include the locally founded deli East Hampton Sandwich Co., sweets spot Cow Tipping Creamery and popular bar Concrete Cowboy. José Andrés also plans to open an outpost of his Mediterranean restaurant Zaytinya there.

2016 Frisco openings

Here are a few other interesting spots that have popped up in 2016 in Frisco:

• The National Videogame Museum features a collection of classic video game hardware, software and memorabilia. Among the more easily recognizable items, such as a giant Pong machine and old Nintendo Entertainment System games, are incredibly rare items such as the unreleased Sega Neptune console and the hard-to-find sewing machine accessory for the Game Boy. You can also play some games (there's even an '80s arcade). It's at 8004 Dallas Parkway (inside the Frisco Discovery Center). nvmusa.org.
• Frisco Rail Yard food truck park features a rustic outdoor vibe, live music and a rotating mix of food trucks centered on a railroad theme at 9040 First St. friscorailyard.com.
• Nerdvana Food + Spirits is focused on contemporary American dining, craft beer and video game culture. Nerdvana Coffee + Shop is a tabletop game-centric coffee spot. Both are at 5757 Main St. nerdvanafrisco.com.

Still on the horizon

• Carlo's Bakery, the retail shop from the family behind TLC show Cake Boss, now has 14 locations. In early 2017, North Texans will be able to visit a new Carlo's Bakery, this one inside Stonebriar Centre in Frisco. (If the Dallas opening is any indication, this will be big. In March, 7,000 people lined up on Day One to buy lobster rolls, cannolis and other sweets.)
• A 110,000-square-foot specialty retail center called Frisco Ranch will open in mid-2017 with a 99 Ranch Market, a Daiso Japan dollar store and an 85°C Bakery Cafe, which some have called the Starbucks of Taiwan. It will be at the northeast corner of Preston Road and Warren Parkway.
• A Whole Foods Market, iPic Theatre, Pinstripes bowling center and Hotel ZaZa are among the anchors named so far for the Wade Park shopping center. The first phase was scheduled to open in 2017, but it's been postponed into 2018.
• At Frisco's Toyota Stadium, $39 million in renovations are underway to make room for the National Soccer Hall of Fame Museum, which will house U.S. Soccer memorabilia and trophies. The National Soccer Hall of Fame is scheduled to celebrate its grand opening in 2018.

Staff writers Tiney Ricciardi, Valerie Wigglesworth, Maria Halkias, Sarah Blaskovich, Britton Peele, Steve Brown and Ann Pinson contributed to this report.