Well, it is Texas after all..and we know how Texans like to do things…BIG. Let’s not forget how big of a deal football is in Texas. If you’re doing a epic high school football movie and its not set in Texas, well then you’re wasting your time(Varsity Blues, Friday Night Lights??)
So the Dallas Suburb of Allen, Texas is going to live up to its Texas reputation and debut their new high school football stadium August 31st. The new Eagle stadium comes at a cost of $59.6 million dollars for the only high school in town. The new stadium holds 18,000 fans, videoboard, artifical turf, state-of-the-art workout facilities and a 3 tier press box.
Sidenote: Of this 18,000 seats, 800 of those seats go to the Allen H.S. band…how crazy is that?!?
There has been some criticism of the new stadium and its cost amid budget cuts and layoffs in the district. While, the conversation may be warranted, this is something the city of Allen voted to pay for in 2009. The school also sells advertising spots on the videoboard during games.
It’s also quite obvious that the Eagles needed a new stadium. The old stadium only had 7,200 steats and they had to add bleachers to the end zone which resulted in another 7,000 seats. Currently, the Eagles are up to 8, 252 season ticket holders with a little under 200 seats left for the opening game against powerhouse Southlake Carroll in the new stadium.
I would call Eagle stadium a mini Jerry’s World Cowboys Stadium, but it’s only the fifth largest Friday night stadium in the state. Well, it is Texas after all.
photos and video via sportsdaydfw.com