A $59.6 million high school football field

The town of Allen, Texas has just broken ground on a $59.6 million high school football stadium. This sort of money buys a very nice stadium.

The field at Allen Eagle Stadium, scheduled to open in 2012, will be 15 feet below grade and covered with artificial turf. Seating capacity is said to be 18,000 including 5,000 reserved seats with seat backs. Other amenities that are unusual for high school fields: A video scoreboard, two-level press box and observation deck.

It is worth noting that Allen Eagle Stadium won't be the largest high school football stadium in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. The stadium in nearby Mesquite holds 20,0000.

Some may argue that spending this sort of money on a high school football stadium is excessive. But not everyone. Note this comment from a reader on the Dallas Morning News Web site.

I live in Rowlett and do not know a soul in Allen. What I do know is these people voted that they wanted this stadium and were willing to pay for it. What is wrong with that? That is the reason we vote. Do you want the people of Allen telling you what to do in your town? I doubt you do.

A high school runner's lament

I've never met Gabriel Weiss, but I'm already mightily impressed by him. Gabriel is a junior at a Jesuit high school near Dallas. He is a cross country and track athlete. And he is a thoughtful young man who, on the subject of kids and sports, expresses himself well. Last week, Gabriel wrote a piece for the Dallas Morning News about why he continues to play competitive sports. This paragraph stopped me.

"The games have been played the same since my grandfather's era, but a different mentality has taken over. The motivation beneath the helmets of football players and other competitive athletes is heavily influenced by scholarships and intense pressure from coaches and parents. The emphasis put on lengthy practices, which begin long before the season, transforms many high school sports into an almost full-time job. Can this high-stakes, pressure-infused way of playing possibly enhance the game, or is this tainting the true meaning of sports?"

The adults (myself included) may think we've disguised our ambitions and expectations for our kids in competitive sports. As Gabriel points out so well, most of us haven't.

Thanks to Doug Abrams for pointing out Gabriel's commentary.

Pursuing athletic scholarships

Good article in last Sunday's Dallas Morning News on athletic scholarships. The reporter, Brandon George, asks parents: If you had it to do again, would you go to the trouble and expense of training up your child for college sports?

Answer:

Yes. Parents felt their kids had benefitted from structure, education and "life experiences."

And definitely not...for the scholarship money. When it was there at all, those dollars turned out to be far less than the parents bargained for.

"It definitely wouldn't be worth it from a money perspective if you look at it that way," said Tom Geppert, whose son, Scott, was a senior forward for SMU's soccer team last season, told the Morning News. The full piece is here.
Bill Pennington had a similar piece in the New York Times last March.