Posted on 08/30/2012 1:56:51 PM PDT by 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 As school districts across the country struggle to retain teachers, replace outdated textbooks and keep class sizes from ballooning, the wealthy, burgeoning Dallas suburb of Allen is preparing to christen its new stadium with a sold-out Friday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.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
That stadium is larger than the one at my college alma mater and we’ve got an FCS (Division I-AA) championship under our belts. I know high school football is the second-biggest religious denomination in Texas behind Southern Baptist (and I’m not so sure it’s in second anymore) but a $60 million stadium seems insane, especially if it’s being funded with other school districts’ property tax money.
}:-)4
Plano already has a stadium, behind Clark High School:
I don't know if it would cost 60 million, but it appears to be adequate.
Yep, state and county officials believe they have a “right” to confiscate taxpayer dollars to build multi-million dollar facilities such as this.
Monumental waste of dollars that could go to help our kids compete in math and sciences.
Now, before folks fire back, “it was voter approved bonds”, typically local elections such as this realize very low voter turnout and more times than not are heavily weighted with folks that have skin in the game such as teachers, coaches, developers, county supervisors, administrators.
60 million for a football stadium? Should not have happened in my opinion.
Football is the engine that drives the train for so many extracurricular activities: cheerleading, drill team, band (Allen's band is 600+ strong).
I no longer have a problem with wealthier districts acting in their own interest. Allen ISD likely sends 40% (or more) of their local property tax dollars to poorer districts throughout Texas under the Robin Hood plan. The stadium is being funded by local taxpayers.
I've had kids in the Coppell ISD for over 15 years. Half of my property taxes are sent elsewhere. In addition to that, I've shelled out hundreds for "activity fees" for my children to participate in an extracurricular activity. These activities are expensive to run, ask any drill team or band parent.
I don't expect outsiders to understand. Just stay out of our bidness. BTW, Allen ISD is a highly rated school district academically, so they're doing something right.
typically local elections such as this realize very low voter turnout and more times than not are heavily weighted with folks that have skin in the game such as teachers, coaches, developers, county supervisors, administrators.
It seems to me that the voters are searching for an excuse. They are the ones that didn’t vote. Perhaps if they took a vested interest in voting in EVERY election and not just every four years, they could have had a say in the matter. Using the excuse that the teachers, coaches etc were the only ones to vote seems very lame.
Agree....Hockey is a MAN'S sport.
Dayton High School, TX has 1,400 students and this stadium that seats 8,500:
http://www.texasbob.com/stadium/stadium.php?id=865#.UHWD0C6dQhA
No Pro Lacrosse League in the USA? Nobody cares? Well a small niche do.
The indoor game http://www.nll.com/
The outdoor game http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/
ALMOST nobody cares....a gay following exists, but real men don't play Lacrosse, or soccer, for that matter.
Collin County residents have the highest medium income in the state and Collin County is one of the 25 wealthiest in the country.
Approximately 7,500 reserved, chair-back seats will be sold on a season basis each year. Officials also are reserving 5,000 seats for fans of the visiting team, 4,000 for Allen students and 1,000 for the school’s band. That leaves a mere 500 for general admission each week.
Click for a slie show of the stadium;
http://www.maxpreps.com/news/Fp7zmjL8SkKx-IX3owvweA/allen-eagle-stadium-to-open-aug-24.htm
Agree. Voters here in cental Texas where I live just voted 2-1 for a property tax increase to ostensibly keep the local school district afloat, despite the fact that the district, like most others, is bloated with non essential overhead staff, unecessary new construction, and engages in a variety of costly non-education based silliness. The sell to voters described what programs would have to be eliminated if the tax increase proposal would not be passed. The costly sacred cow of high school foootball was never on the table as a method to live within their means.
A large share of that yes vote came from our expansive retirement community, since seniors age 65+ have their property tax rates frozen. The rationale here is that "quality" public education trickles quality across the community as a whole, both esoterically and with business. The Chamber of Commerce pushes the agenda while working backdoor tax relief deals to entice new business to establish, bringing more people in, creating the "requirement" for more schools to be built and more staff to support it. And the tax and spend cycle repeats. BTW, this is happening in a local "Republican" demographic. Government largesse isn't just for democrats.
“Hockey is a MAN’S sport.”
It is a lot more exciting to play OR watch (especially live); the NFL has simply worn me out with the stupid commercials every 45 seconds...
For instance: a local county election was scheduled on mothers day. Another scheduled during a holiday weekend when many folks would be out of town.
These are some of the shenanigans you will see in these local elections.
All that mentioned, it is this liberal progressive mentality that spends folks doe willy nilly. That's got to change. During recessionary times, spending 60 million on a high school sports stadium is ludicrous and obscene.
Where does Allen ISD get its funding?
School taxes which are separate from city/county taxes.
The school board sets it’s own rates, etc...
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