After Texas HS builds $60-million stadium, rival district plans one for near $70 mill

BleedGopher

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per the LA Times:

On Fridays the football faithful gather, setting up grills and tailgating for hours in a vast parking lot before packing into the stadium built with rose-colored brick.

The high-definition video screen towering over one end zone magnifies their favorite players, and the three-tier press box offers a panorama of the field below.

The cost: $60 million.

The home team: The Eagles of Allen High School.

In bigger-is-better Texas, Eagle Stadium, which rivals Staples Center in capacity with 18,000 seats, gives the suburban Dallas high school serious bragging rights. But in the battle of one-upmanship among Texas high schools, a challenger is rising close to home.

The school district just up the street in McKinney plans to break ground within a month on a nearly $70-million stadium — the newest competitor in a spend-off critics call a stadium arms race.

“Oh, it’s a rivalry,” said Adam Blanchet, a junior at McKinney North, one of the three high schools in the McKinney Independent School District that will use the new stadium. “I have pride knowing my district is going to have the most expensive stadium in the country.”

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-stadium-arms-race-snap-story.html

Go Gophers!!
 

At some point this, and even college spending gets a bit unseemly considering their primary business is supposed to be education. It's a weird mix.
 


As much as I like high school sports, I wonder if it is time to eliminate them and rely on clubs to provide these activities? Many school districts face serious funding shortfalls and are cutting academic curriculum such as music and language programs but somehow have money for sports. I realize school sports are the only way some kids can afford to play but sometimes it just doesn't seem right when compared to other academic needs.
 




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