IRVING -- The critical player selections, discussions and wheeling and dealing that have taken place in the Cowboys' draft "war room" are belied by the actual setting. Dallas' inner sanctum is essentially a glorified conference room.

But the Cowboys are trying to create a draft command center that matches the action it will house as they prepare the club's new world headquarters. They'll move this summer into The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco.

Dallas' new all-digital draft hub will be part tourist attraction and touchstone to the Cowboys' past and think tank where, for better or worse, the club's future is shaped.

"The war room is a place where our fans are very intrigued," said Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "It's almost like a playing field, if you will, for the offseason."

Cameras allowed for behind-the-scenes access in the Cowboys' war room at the longtime Valley Ranch headquarters revealed owner Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones, coach Jason Garrett and others crowded around a conference table. It's cluttered with laptops, water bottles and a couple of Cowboys helmets. The draft order is charted on a simple white board in the background.

The star of the room at The Star will be the technology, highlighted by a 20 feet by 7 feet interactive video wall with touch-screen capabilities that team officials say will integrate the information that is used to make draft decisions.

The room's elevated function is also another way to engage Cowboys fans, who will be able to tour The Star and visit where it all goes down when Dallas is on the clock.

"We believe with how the NFL draft is covered now that this is really the inside look," said Jerry Jones Jr., Cowboys chief sales and marketing officer and executive vice president. "We've gone to a lot of effort not only to maximize the technology allowing us to perform more effectively. But it is also about entertainment, it's about our fans touching and feeling us in a certain way."

The technology

Fans will be able to read through digital scouting reports of Cowboys greats on display outside of the team's new war room at The Star in Frisco. (Advent)

Jerry Jones infamously still uses a flip phone, but Jerry Jones Jr. isn't concerned with how his father will adjust to the high-tech draft room.

"He's always been known to be a good listener," Jones Jr. said. "This way our technology and video board and all of that information is right there, so any questions he might have -- which are always several -- we're able to get to that information quickly to get answers."

The Cowboys are working with AT&T to install the features in the 40 feet by 30 feet room, which includes:

The interactive video wall, made up of three rows of five 55-inch LCD narrow bezel displays, 15 total.

There will be two 98-inch multi-touch displays that will be used for side-by-side comparisons of players.

The Cowboys will be able to stream up to 16 different video application feeds at the same time.

The room will include six secure phones for draft-day conversations with drafted players, the NFL, other teams, etc.

Strict security measures will be put in place to access the room, but the Cowboys declined to reveal specifics.

"How it ultimately helps us draft better, that remains to be seen," Stephen Jones said. "I do think it allows you to organize and sort and move things around in a more efficient manner."

Jones said one top feature is being able to compare players with former players, such as Cowboys great Deion Sanders to Florida State cornerback Jalen Ramsey, a potential Dallas target in Thursday's draft.

"We can also compare corners in the draft, here's two of the top corners, how do they compare," Jones said. "I love you can put their measurables up there."

While the Cowboys have long had access to heaps of information, Jones Jr. said the technology creates efficiency. The video wall will also be used for displaying graphics and medical reports, showing player and coach interviews and making notes and annotations.

"How we evaluate a player, it involves multiple, multiple opinions," Jones Jr. said. "There's serious dialogue in those meetings that really help you set your draft board. The more efficient you can be in getting the information in front of us as a collective group, the quicker you can get to an opinion of a player."

Bound to history

An artist's rendering of the exterior of the new draft war room at the Cowboys headquarters at The Star in Frisco. (Advent)

The Cowboys have held onto old scouting books that include the club's handwritten thoughts on the likes of college-age Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Drew Pearson and more before they became Dallas greats.

Four draft books will be displayed outside of the war room for public viewing.

Three of those will be open to display past player evaluations.

The fourth will be a "living" draft book. It will include video and player evaluations that are "scribbled" in digitally.

Fantasy football, anyone?

An artist's rendering of what the Cowboys' new digital war room will look like at their new headquarters, The Star in Frisco. (Gensler)

The war room will be used year-round by the Cowboys to prepare for scouting trips to colleges and for the NFL combine, not just in the intense weeks leading up to the draft.

But the Cowboys are factoring in other uses for the room, too.

Jerry Jones Jr. said he could imagine corporations holding promotions that dangle the chance to hold events in the war room, such as fantasy football drafts.

"Late on a Friday night in August, somebody may be in there having their draft party," Jones Jr. said.

The Cowboys were the first team to open the war room to TV cameras, Jones Jr. said. Now the room will be included in tours of The Star. The Cowboys expect interest to be high -- an estimated 400,000 people toured AT&T Stadium last year.

It's the last one

The 2016 draft, which begins Thursday in Chicago, will be the last the Cowboys man from the Valley Ranch war room. Stephen Jones said he inquired about what will happen to the conference table that is complete with the iconic star in the center ... it's staying with the building.

Jones said he recently talked about leaving the room behind with Will McClay and Chris Hall, key players in the Cowboys' draft process.

"I said, 'This is gonna be bittersweet,''' Jones said. "So many wonderful memories, great players drafted out of the war room, the Troy Aikmans and Emmitt Smiths and the Michael Irvins and DeMarcus Wares and the Larry Allens, a lot of Hall of Fame football players. We decided to pick them right in that room. A lot of great memories."

Twitter: @khairopoulos