Cost for Most Expensive High School Stadium Ever Hits $70M

Texas really, really loves high-school football
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2016 2:03 PM CDT
Most Expensive High School Stadium Ever Just Got More So
The McKinney Independent School District in Texas is replacing this high-school football stadium with one that's budget just soared to nearly $70 million.   (AP Photo/LM Otero)

When Texas voters approved a $63 million high-school football stadium in May, the school district fought back against claims it was the most expensive high-school stadium ever. They might not have much of a leg to stand on anymore. The Dallas Morning News reports the cost of McKinney Independent School District's new football stadium rose to $69.9 million in the three months since it was approved. Most of that increase is due to unexpectedly expensive concrete and labor, according to American School & University. Concrete was especially problematic, as costs went up 50% and the district to decided to do more road construction around the new stadium.

Rather than go back to the drawing board or ask voters for more money, the school district is going to forge ahead with plans for the 12,000-seat stadium and pay for the cost overruns with money left over from previous voter-approved bonds. "We decided this is something that we'll be using for 50 or 60 years so we want to do it right," a spokesperson for the McKinney Independent School District tells WFAA. Construction on the stadium is scheduled to begin this month, and it should be completed by the end of 2017. At least two other high-school football stadiums in Texas have budgets exceeding $60 million. (A new NFL stadium might be dangerously loud.)

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