Texas high school to open $60M football stadium

AP ^ | August 30, 2012 | Staff

[C19fan]

Call it the palace of high school football: A gleaming $60 million facility with seats for 18,000 roaring fans, a 38-foot-wide high-definition video screen, corporate sponsors and a towering upper deck. Welcome to the new home of Eagles Football. As school districts across the country struggle to retain teachers, replace outdated textbooks and keep class sizes from ballooning, the wealthy, burgeoning Dallas suburb of Allen is preparing to christen its new stadium with a sold-out Friday night matchup against defending state champions Southlake Carroll.

[Milton Miteybad]

I played for a smaller 3A team (Allen and The Dragons I think are 5A) in Texas in 69’ and 70’. Only one time did we play for a crowd smaller than 5000. Our ISD has revenue from oil wells. As a matter of fact, they ended up slant drilling a well right underneath the football field.

This is why high school football is so popular in Texas. It was one of the few forms of entertainment available in oilfield towns and camps in the early 20th century. Hundreds or thousands of people would appear overnight in some desolate, remote spot, a hundred miles from any form of civilization, for the purpose of working in the oilfields. There were no movies, television or video games. All the other forms of entertainment (drinking and carousing with shady ladies) were mostly off-limits for families, so the family men played football. There may have been 20 different languages spoken in the oilfield camp, but everybody seemed to like and understand football. It was often the only thing many of these workers had in common with each other, other than the fact that they were out in the middle of nowhere, doing a hot, dirty and hazardous job. Many of these oilfield camps would form teams, and they would compete with teams from other boom towns.

Of course, many of these oilfield towns would eventually die almost as quickly as they had arisen. But the towns that survived long enough to establish schools would set up a football program as soon as they had laid the cornerstone of the school building. Friday nights in the fall became the centerpiece of the local entertainment calendar because, as much as any other reason, the local high school team gave their town a sense of community. Football, being the one thing everybody in town agreed that they liked, brought the whole town together, just as football had fostered a sense of community back when the town was an oilfield camp. Johnny's dad may have been suing Mark's dad over a business deal gone bad, and the two adults may have actively sought to avoid any social interaction with each other lest they come to blows. Yet there would be Johnny's dad and Mark's dad sitting next to each other in the stadium on a cool autumn Friday night, cheering on their sons as they played the game.

So, the simple answer to the question, "Why is high school football king in Texas?" is that the sport has, since its inception, been a part of who we as Texans are. It is part of our culture, for better or worse.

And it all goes back to what our great-grandfathers did to pass the time when they weren't laboring in the oilpatch.

[okie01]

Plano and Allen are adjacent school districts in Collin County.

I frankly can't imagine that any district in Collin County has ever received a cent of Robin Hood funds -- much less Allen.

I do know for certain that none were even eligible to receive them when my wife won election to the County School Board.

[OrangeHoof]

You should see what Odessa Permian HS has, particularly when oil money is up.

[OrangeHoof]

If you have to ask why, it’s time to pack and go home. Just like the death penalty, some things don’t need explaining.

[vetvetdoug]

1972 San Antonio Lee versus Wichita Falls High in Texas Stadium. Lee won 28-27 on the pitching arm of Tommy Kramer to Richard Osborne...both went on to college and met up playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Wichita Falls High two years ago held the Texas record for most state championships and the high school program with the most wins. I think Southlake Carroll may have tied it or surpassed it as of last year.

Stephenville, Brownwood, Odessa Permian, Abilene Cooper, LaMarque, and Lake Travis are some others but I've left out dozens of other excellent HS Texas programs that are legendary.

[freedumb2003]

>>If you have to ask why, it’s time to pack and go home. Just like the death penalty, some things don’t need explaining.<<

Hey, I can’t even understand why people give a tinker’s damn about High School at all. Those were the longest 2 years of my life, despite a few fun things along the way.

I couldn’t name a single person from then if you put a gun to my head.

College, OTOH, was a blast. I understand people’s affinity to their Alma Maters...

[1rudeboy]

Is that the other standard? Players being drafted? Here’s a newsflash for you: it doesn’t matter whether a player is drafted from football, lacrosse, or pinochle . . . the taxpayers of that district don’t see squat.

[freedumb2003]

Excellently stated.

Thanks for a good answer and a small history lesson for us all.

[Grams A]

I think it’s interesting to find out differences between parts of country, cultures and generations on a particular subject. My kids didn’t have school sponsored sports until senior high. From grades 5-9 they played YMCA football. Our local fields could accommodate up to 10 games at same time, under lights with official scoreboards, paved parking lots, great food at concession areas, etc. Sponsor fees were $4,000 per team plus cost of jerseys and pants-a lot of money back then, plus all the kids paid to play. All the parents had team jerseys. Kids tried out and there were A and B teams within each grade school area. Lot of the boys went to football camps in the summer in other states. It was all about winning. Great coaches, conditioning, lots of newsprint. It was a big deal.

I do not believe that everyone should have a trophy and if you don’t keep score, why bother.

I also don’t have a problem with a $60 million dollar stadium providing it isn’t paid for with tax dollars and it doesn’t matter whether it’s for students or pros. If somebody wants it, they can pay for it. What irks me the most is flying into a city and having to pay for their sports complex by having an extra charge on my hotel or car rental bill.

There are lots of things that kids can try and if parents have a mind to, they can find something for their child to do where their child will be able to excel.

[RegulatorCountry]

I’m startled to see our resident cheerleader for everything foreign touting the game of Lacrosse. It’s as American as football. It’s Indian Ball, and not your favored variety of Indian It’s a native American game.

As far as your not being able to find football players to play water polo with you, well, maybe you shoud try the theater department.

[traditional1]

"I suppose I should have never played water polo . . . funny, that . . . we could never find any football players to play"

No doubt.

Most of the pocket-pool players wind up playing Lacross....

There's a REASON there's no Pro Lacrosse League in the USA.....nobody cares.

[1rudeboy]

Again, your intent to justify wasteful government spending based on the popularity of the sport of your choice is beyond silly.

[ansel12]

In 1965, our Texas football stadium was built for a mere 1.2 million.

Which even with inflation, pales compared to this beauty.

[Celtic Conservative]

I suppose I should have never played water polo . . . funny, that . . . we could never find any football players to play with us.

We tried to play water polo in My home town, but the horses kept drowning...

CC

[1rudeboy]

The horses I work with know how to swim. Maybe you had faulty horses? ;)

[fso301]

It’s good to see that some of the nation’s public schools are well functioning.

[okie01]

The thing is, the Plano High Schools share the stadium, this stadium is for one school.

There have been two senior high schools in Plano only since 1981. Clark Field was built before that -- i.e., for one high school.

[okie01]

If that's the case, then the taxpayers knew it -- and still approved the bond issue.

It's their choice.

[rod1]

Yes indeed. Football is what preceeds and follows the marching band’s performance each weekend.

[Mr. Blonde]

I believe most stadiums and arenas are, from a strictly financial standpoint, losers. They can do a lot to bring a community together in various ways. The revitalization in Oklahoma City of the Bricktown area has cost a lot of money, but it has done a lot. Bringing the Thunder to town has also been huge for uniting the entire state. Normally everyone is pretty divided between OSU and OU, but everyone can get behind the Thunder.