BF2S Forums City builds $60 million high school football stadium

Game tickets here are $10/person, not $8.

They will also probably be renting it out for special events, concerts, etc. A stadium that nice won't just see 5 games played and then sit there all year. You are also forgetting Junior Varsity games, Freshman Football games, Junior High games (that will be using this field) and other sporting events that could use this stadium, such as track and field events.

They have sold advertising rights in the stadium and on the scoreboards.

They have already sold 8,000 season tickets, and hold 18,000 people. They are expected to sell out every game.

This was part of a $119Million school improvement bond package that was voted on by the public (Over 63% in favor of). After they renovated and built every other school building, the $60M was what they had left over out of that package. With the way bonds work, they had to use it on buildings for the school, or else be in violation of their bond.

Could they have built something else for academic purposes with that money? Sure, but keep in mind they just spent $59M doing that.

They spent $23M on a Performing Arts auditorium.

They spent $36M on transportation, a maintenance center/building maintenance, and a nutrition center.

The town's median income is over $100K/year.

The town is currently booming with several new malls and outlet malls.

There are over 5,000 students at this high school.

There are about 1200 football players between the V, JV, F, and Jr High teams.

There are 800 marching band members.

The soccer team will also be using this stadium, although they have another field for gametime conflicts.

This stadium also features a full weight room and an indoor area for wrestling training.

It also features an indoor hitting area for their golf program.

Surrounding, smaller schools have already booked the stadium to use for their games.

Surrounding colleges have already booked the stadium for their games.

They have already generated revenue above their targeted budget for the next 3 years.

And frankly, this is a community spending THEIR money on what THEY wanted... So just because you think you can spend their money for them better than they can, doesn't mean they don't have the right to spend it on what they want.

Last edited by HITNRUNXX (2012-08-13 06:02:55)

Hm, $59m spent on the academic side, $60m on a stadium.

I'm glad its not my money.

Trolls

go make a sports club if they want to profit from the stadium, schools should be primarily academic, not wasting money on sports.

Never mind the cost of the stadium. What's really alien to me is people actually pay real money to watch high school sports. That is just bizarre.

Most people that watch them are friends, students, and family members... That isn't bizarre at all... I find it odd that your sports would not be supported in the same way.

watching a friend is just a part of the reason to go if its one at all.
euros shouldn't be allowed in this talk

No more bizarre than cheering on a pro or college team if you really think about it.

KEN-JENNINGS wrote:

pro teams are usually representing cities with hundreds of thousands of people, usually more like million +.  College teams can represent regions and many alumni who take an active interest in the school through alumni groups, boosters, fraternities, etc. Generally speaking, college and pro sports are played by athletes who are in the top 1% of their chosen activity.  Even if this high school football team is ranked #1 in the nation, it's not the same thing.  I don't think following a team full of 16 year-olds is the same as following college or pro sports by any measure.

Do you really go to pro events because the athletes are the top 1%? When I go to a sports event I'm usually in my chair paying attention maybe 1/4 of the time. The rest I spend socializing, drinking beer etc. Texas high school football is a product of rural culture needing social events, and now that towns like Allen have been built up more, it stayed part of the social scene.

Do you go to local minor league games to socialize too?

KEN-JENNINGS wrote:

yes, i go to sports events because I like the sport and competition.  Just because you go to socialize doesn't mean everyone does.

Speaking of which, have you ever been to a UFC event? I really have no excuse for not going to one since they happen in Atlantic City all the time.

Last edited by Macbeth (2012-08-14 14:04:14)

Macbeth wrote:

Anyone who’s seen Friday Night Lights knows high school football in Texas is no joke. It’s particularly not a laughing matter in the Dallas suburb of Allen, which just spent $60 million on a lavish new stadium for its high school football team.

When residents decided the previous 14-000-seat stadium wasn’t large enough, they approved plans for the new facility in 2009, NBC DFW reports. The Allen Eagles’ new home contains 18,000 seats, a 75-by-45 foot HD video scoreboard, a weight room and sunken-bowl design. The press room and private boxes rival those of college stadiums. It’s quite an upgrade from the old facility —one that didn’t even have built-in bathrooms.

So is this a completely justified use of tax money or a depressing statement about the importance we put into school sports?

IIRC, those kind of projects are funded with bonds, not with tax dollars.

And, since it's Texas, it will probably pay for itself within a few years.

Jay wrote:

Bonds are paid back with tax dollars.

That would contradict other posts you have made, referring to bonds as investments held by private citizens, fund managers, etc.

The money put up for the bonds is private equity, not tax dollars. Thus, the money used to build the stadium is not from taxes. If the municipality chooses to pay back the bonds via collected taxes, within existing budgets--a budget-neutral enterprise, which most bond projects are, otherwise they wouldn't use bonds to raise the funds--then it's no difference whatsoever to the tax payers. Those are sunk monies, regardless.