The love of high school football in Texas is hard to quantify. But to get an idea, have a look at the price tag on one its newest temples.
Voters in McKinney, Tex., have given the go ahead to build a nearly $63 million high school football stadium after months of contentious debate in the suburban city north of Dallas.
Down south, football is a really big deal, and playoff football is a really big deal, said Jennifer Gray, the chairwoman of Vote for McKinneys Future, a pro-stadium group.
The 12,000-seat facility and an attached events center would be just the latest in a growing list of supersized high school stadiums in Texas.
The McKinney project has been frequently compared to the $60 million high school stadium in nearby Allen, also north of Dallas. With seats for 18,000 people, the Allen stadium has nearly the same capacity as Madison Square Garden. Another school stadium under construction in Katy, outside Houston, will have 12,000 seats at a projected cost of more than $62 million.
Opponents of the McKinney stadium, which would be used by the citys three high schools, have accused district leaders of engaging in a sort of arms race of football stadiums.
Were kind of like the poor boys on the block, said Mike Giles, a leader of Grassroots McKinney, which has opposed the plan. They look down and they see Allen. Allen has a really nice stadium.
The McKinney school district superintendent, Rick McDaniel, and his spokesman could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Ms. Gray, who noted that she didnt care a thing in the world about football, said she was persuaded that the stadium would spur an economic boon by attracting regional football tournaments and other events. Thousands and thousands of people coming into our city and spending their money here in our city, she said.
The plan was polarizing for many McKinney residents and led to the creation of rival political action committees. In debates and online comment threads, opponents argued that it represented a misplaced priority on sports over academics. Some mentioned concerns about football-related concussions.
Supporters have acknowledged that the old stadium, the 7,000-seat Ron Poe Stadium built in 1962, has provided more than enough room to accommodate fans, even if the parking lot is too small.
But many residents felt that McKinney, with a growing population of about 160,000 people, needed a stadium to match its ambitions as destination city. In pushing the project, district officials projected that the number of high schools there could triple in the coming decades.
In a vote on May 7, nearly two-thirds of McKinney residents endorsed a $220 million school bond measure that included plans for the stadium, along with a number of renovations and other projects.
Its something our community will look at with great pride when they come down Highway 121, Mr. McDaniel, the superintendent, said in March, according to The Dallas Morning News. Regardless from where youre coming from, youll see the stadium. And that speaks volumes.
The district plans to have the stadium ready to host the first kickoff in 2017.
