OT - The most expensive high school football stadium in America is open for business.

[huskymedic]

Background thread:OT - A Texas town of 20k (Prosper) is about to build a $50m high school football stadium

 

[Redding Husky]

In Collin County, we'll have three of these stadiums when McKinney completes theirs next year.

My son played football here. It's a blast. The only thing up north I've ever seen that compares to it is the Rye-Harrison rivalry in Westchester County, NY. I attended that game back in the 1970's and there were about 10,000 people there. Down here, every game is like that with many crowds at 15,000+.

 

[SubZero]

Why can't we get money like that from the local and state government?

 

[StoneyDawg]

We would rather put our money into Government and teacher pensions.

 

[RioDog]

Well, if the worst ever comes to pass and we downgrade football maybe we could join that league down in Collin County TX. Travel would be tough but just think about recruiting opportunities in the local Jr. High Schools.

 

[Exit 4]

Why can't we get money like that from the local and state government?

CT has already spent its wad . Southern states are basically where the northern states were on public spending in the 1950s and 1960s, High wage growth, high tax collection growth, high population growth and low debt loads = ability to have big public spending toy projects. We are on the other side of that cycle where the debt has come due. We also have far tax dollars to spend on capital projects because our public retirement program is far more generous than virtually anywhere.

 

[SubZero]

So if these kids only play D3 then their high stadium would be better than their college stadium.

 

[Rocktheworld]

We would rather put our money into Government and teacher pensions.

Looks like JSM1970/husky91 is back lmao

 

[Redding Husky]

So if these kids only play D3 then their high stadium would be better than their college stadium.

For Texas high school players at the 6-A level, only FBS or FCS would probably have bigger stadiums and crowds. I'd be surprised if many Division 2 college football teams get 10,000 to 15,000 per game. I might be wrong about that.

My son's high school averaged 10,000 per game in 2016 and that was actually a slight disappointment.

 

[huskymedic]

I'd be surprised if many Division 2 college football teams get 10,000 to 15,000 per game.

Only the legendary Grand Valley State comes close - north of 10k for years.

 

[whaler11]

$70 million doesn't go too far these days I guess. It's nice and all but in 2016 dollars Rentschler cost $119 million in a place where it's supposed to be a lot more expensive to build.

 

[CTPride]

Prosper is a small town, but the population is going to explode in the coming years. Lots of growth in that area , so it's not super surprising that they built a new stadium.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Background thread:OT - A Texas town of 20k (Prosper) is about to build a $50m high school football stadium

That is what you get for $70m in Texas? It looks more like a billboard for graft and cronyism than a modern stadium.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Chief00]

Somehow I knew it was in TX.

 

[texascpa]

Not that anyone would care, particularly since this is my first post on the Boneyard and this is about TX. But I felt compelled to give a little background on this stadium.

I live in Katy, TX. Lived here for 20 years now. Katy is a suburb of Houston, and has grown exponentially since I moved here. I live in one of the few undeveloped areas of Katy, but it's quickly creeping towards my home. By 2030, my acreage subdivision will be surrounded by other subdivisions and commercial development, no doubt.

Up until this year, 7 high schools (the 8th just started this year), shared one stadium for all varsity and JV games. That stadium holds about 8-10K. Varsity games were played Thursday night, Friday night and all day Saturday during league games. JV on Tuesday and Wed. 9th grade games are held at smaller stadiums at each of the high schools (all which have artificial turf). The league, which participates in Texas' largest division - 6A - also included two other schools from the Houston area. I should mention that my kid's school, Katy High School has been the 6A state champ several times over the last 10 years. You can see, we take football pretty seriously around here.

I'm not sure how Connecticut schools are funded, but in TX, all construction is done through local school bonds. The new stadium was part of a comprehensive bond about 6 years ago. While that bond included many other improvements, the stadium was the focal point. The bond failed....considerably. Katy is a high income area of Houston, it's very conservative and people get heavily involved in the school system. There is a citizen group that particularly questions all school bonds. This is because TX also funds it's schools through sales tax and property taxes (TX does not have an income tax). Katy had, at the time, the highest property tax rate allowed by state law. So, you can see why people would question the hundreds of millions in bond, when property taxes are so high.

Jump four years and two additional high schools later and it became apparent that something had to be done. The school board made some changes to the bond and added other non-athletic improvements, and it passed. There was still plenty of opposition, but not as vocal or organized this time. The stadium is nice (I'll be at it a few times because my son plays in the school marching band), has a huge monitor, as you can see in the pics, and is directly next to the older stadium, which you can't see. Yes, it's expensive, but necessary both in size and need. And it's supported by a manageable bond debt.

In any case, just thought I would drop some info that I knew about the most expensive high school stadium in the country.

I'll pop over here once in a while to see if there were any questions. Or you can pm me at syracusefan.com

 

[Redding Husky]

Not that anyone would care, particularly since this is my first post on the Boneyard and this is about TX. But I felt compelled to give a little background on this stadium.

I live in Katy, TX. Lived here for 20 years now. Katy is a suburb of Houston, and has grown exponentially since I moved here. I live in one of the few undeveloped areas of Katy, but it's quickly creeping towards my home. By 2030, my acreage subdivision will be surrounded by other subdivisions and commercial development, no doubt.

Up until this year, 7 high schools (the 8th just started this year), shared one stadium for all varsity and JV games. That stadium holds about 8-10K. Varsity games were played Thursday night, Friday night and all day Saturday during league games. JV on Tuesday and Wed. 9th grade games are held at smaller stadiums at each of the high schools (all which have artificial turf). The league, which participates in Texas' largest division - 6A - also included two other schools from the Houston area. I should mention that my kid's school, Katy High School has been the 6A state champ several times over the last 10 years. You can see, we take football pretty seriously around here.

I'm not sure how Connecticut schools are funded, but in TX, all construction is done through local school bonds. The new stadium was part of a comprehensive bond about 6 years ago. While that bond included many other improvements, the stadium was the focal point. The bond failed....considerably. Katy is a high income area of Houston, it's very conservative and people get heavily involved in the school system. There is a citizen group that particularly questions all school bonds. This is because TX also funds it's schools through sales tax and property taxes (TX does not have an income tax). Katy had, at the time, the highest property tax rate allowed by state law. So, you can see why people would question the hundreds of millions in bond, when property taxes are so high.

Jump four years and two additional high schools later and it became apparent that something had to be done. The school board made some changes to the bond and added other non-athletic improvements, and it passed. There was still plenty of opposition, but not as vocal or organized this time. The stadium is nice (I'll be at it a few times because my son plays in the school marching band), has a huge monitor, as you can see in the pics, and is directly next to the older stadium, which you can't see. Yes, it's expensive, but necessary both in size and need. And it's supported by a manageable bond debt.

In any case, just thought I would drop some info that I knew about the most expensive high school stadium in the country.

I'll pop over here once in a while to see if there were any questions. Or you can pm me at syracusefan.com

Thanks. I'm familiar with Katy football. It seems like they play Allen (Collin County, north of Dallas) often in December, with the winner becoming state champ.

What people up north don't know is that suburban populations in Texas are huge:

Plano ... 270,000 people
McKinney ... 170,000
Frisco ... 170,000
Allen ... 85,000

That's so different than the towns of Faifield County:

Redding ... 8,000
Easton ... 7,500
Brookfield ... 16,500
Wilton ... 18,000
Newtown ... 27,500
Ridgefield ... 24,600

It's easier to pay for a $70 million stadium with 170,000 people than under 10,000.

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

We would rather put our money into Government and teacher pensions.

Another pension basher. If you put 8 to 10 percent of your income away every week of your working life, only to have your "bosses" squander the funds, then maybe you'd understand. It's not "your money" or "our money." It's the contracts (or "sweetheart deals" from jealous, uninformed folks) that spelled out the way the pension the would be funded and handled...those contracts that were completely disregarded.
This is a football forum. Want to come in here and assume that there are no government or state workers here? Bad idea. Stick to football comments.