60 MILLION DOLLAR HIGH SCHOOL STADIUM???

[dshaf]

I usually don't start topics on here, but I was appalled to read of a Texas school district getting the OK yesterday to build a 60 million dollar football stadium. In a world where the good ole USA is behind so many other countrys in academics, why do we continually send the message to our children that sports is the most important thing at a school. Kids are pressured by parents and others to be athletically successful more than academically successful. Our society as a whole has lost focus.

 

[MuttX7]

It is Texas. You must have never read much about how big high school football is in Texas. Not saying it is right, it just is what it is.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Hahahaha. In Carmel we laugh at them for taking 25 years to catch up to our spending.

now to be fair a few tennis courts and basketball rings were also built around it.

 

[ghuns]

We Hoosiers don't have much room to bash Texas for it's unhealthy fascination with HS football.

9 of the 10 biggest HS gymnasiums in the country are in Indiana.

The 5 biggest HS gyms in Indiana are the 5 biggest in the world.

Most were built decades ago in smaller towns like New Castle, Seymour, Richmond, etc, and have close to the seating capacity of that Texas stadium. What do you think the Fieldhouse in New Castle, the Southport Fieldhouse, or Northside Gym in Elkhart cost to build in 2016 dollars?

Probably not 60 million. But each of those gyms were built for a single HS team to play in.

That Texas football Taj Mahal will be the homefield for 3 different high schools. They will make around a 100 grand in just ticket revenue from a single game. 3 teams with 5 home games per season adds up fast without even adding concession revenue.

Like bigtime colleges and their football programs, that money benefits the other sports that are net $$$ losers.

As the parent of two recently graduated HS kids who played sports, it was always clear to them that academics were the most important thing. Bad grades would mean no sports. Get caught drinking, smoking weed, etc, no sports. That message came not just from me, but from every coach they ever played for. Even in our little podunk HS, I can't tell you how many kids I personally know who were kept on the straight and narrow by the threat of not being able to play their sport.

I have also seen big programs lose sight of what's important. Star players busted for drinking who manage to avoid any consequences and play in their next game. Weak ADs who let coaches run their athletic departments. It happens. But there's a lesson for kids in that too. Life ain't fair. The system, any system, will only be as good and just as the people running it. Those lessons are as valuable as any math and science they'll ever learn.

 

[eldirector]

I've often laughed (rather than cried) about this. Avon recently had a referendum, claiming they needed more $$$ for academics. AFTER building a new sports complex. I was told "those are different budgets". My reply? Well, whoever is MANAGING those budgets has exactly the wrong priorities.

Brownsburg recently had their football stadium turf updated, and added a corporate sponsorship to cover the expense. BUT... they want a referendum on the ballot for more $$$ for their buildings. Why no corporate academic sponsorship? If it were me, the businesses would be required to spend as much on academics as sports, to get naming rights.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Those HS gyms are used daily for PE. And it's a lot cheaper to dig a hole and put seats in it than a massive outdoor football stadium.

my guess is that field will set empty 95% of the hours of the year, if not more

 

[chezuki]

Hahahaha. In Carmel we laugh at them for taking 25 years to catch up to our spending.

now to be fair a few tennis courts and basketball rings were also built around it.

Well played Ted.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Yeah high school football down south and especially in Texas is what high school basketball used to be up here. The OP doesn't include a link but some of those school districts down there are rolling in money...big money. So $60MM may seem large to us but it could be "in line" when considering what their other budgets look like.

 

[ghuns]

Those HS gyms are used daily for PE. And it's a lot cheaper to dig a hole and put seats in it than a massive outdoor football stadium.

my guess is that field will set empty 95% of the hours of the year, if not more

Maybe. Not sure if they'd use it for marching band practice/events or track and field like many around here do.

Just for perspective...


That 60 million is divided between three high schools with a total enrollment of about 8000. So $60,000,000/8000 is $7500 per student.


New Castle Fieldhouse was built in 1959 at a cost of $1.1 million. That's $9,002,681.66 in 2016 dollars.


The population of New Castle in 1959 was about 18,000, the same as it is today. The high school has an enrollment of around 1200 today, so let's assume enrollment was the same in 1959, since the population is.


So to build that shrine to Hoosier Hysteria, today would be $9,002,681.66/1200 students = $7502 per student.

I know, figures don't lie but liars figure...

It just doesn't seem that crazy to me, and I lack the gene that causes Hoosiers to be rabid basketball fans.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I'm not saying it's crazy, but I am saying a HS football stadium won't get used as much as a basketball gym. "Get off the field, that cost $60m!"

 

[Leo]

As much as I like sports, there is way too much attention and taxpayer money spent on sports. As a taxpayer I am tired of paying for them, both at the school and professional levels. Feasts and Circuses.

How about prioritizing my tax money to train students to read, write, and THINK? And maybe guide them to be productive members of society?

 

[eldirector]

I'm not saying it's crazy, but I am saying a HS football stadium won't get used as much as a basketball gym. "Get off the field, that cost $60m!"

Back in the day, the soccer team was kicked off (get it?) of the football field. Said we might damage it.

Personally, I'm all for HS sports. As a "pay to play" extra-curricular option. Not taxpayer funded. I'd even go so far as to say that every donated dollar spent on sports must be matched by a donated dollar spent on academics.

 

[hoosierdoc]

You never dated a cheerleader, did you Leo?

 

[halfmileharry]

$60M?
It might be Union workers.

 

[ghuns]

"Get off the field, that cost $60m!"

That's one reason why more and more HS fields are being switched to field turf. Doesn't get torn up like grass... And it only gives some of the kids cancer.

 

[HoughMade]

...What do you think the Fieldhouse in New Castle, the Southport Fieldhouse, or Northside Gym in Elkhart cost to build in 2016 dollars?...

Let's be accurate. Northside Gym is at a Jr. High.

 

[eldirector]

That's one reason why more and more HS fields are being switched to field turf. Doesn't get torn up like grass... And it only gives some of the kids cancer.

Turf only contributes to SOME additional injuries, too. But, they are young and can heal fast. Just rub some (artificial) dirt on it.

 

[HoughMade]

As much as I like sports, there is way too much attention and taxpayer money spent on sports. As a taxpayer I am tired of paying for them, both at the school and professional levels. Feasts and Circuses.

It's a political process. Organize and try to chamge it.

How about prioritizing my tax money to train students to read, write, and THINK? And maybe guide them to be productive members of society?

More money won't improve a child's basic education. The school systems and teachers unions have been accord in the "all we need is more money" conspiracy for decades. If money was the answer, it should have been fixed by now. The real answer is that the schools do the job educating the kids that the parents and kids allow them to. Parents and kids who want a good education don't even need a school. Parents and kids who don't care won't learn in the Taj Mahal of schools.

 

[eldirector]

We are already spending a ton of $$$ on K12 education:
U.S. education spending tops global list, study shows - CBS News
More than $15,000 per student per year.
The average of all developed nations is about $9K/yr/student


And, most interesting, amount spent does NOT seem to correlate to scores... AT ALL.

 

[SMiller]

Football in East Texas is all they care about, I toured every town and city there is over there this spring and some schools had entire sports complexes that were larger then the schools themselves. The stadiums in Melissa and Farmersville are just stupid, McKinney is the city of all city's so I am sure they feel out done and want a bigger stadium.

The tax payers voted, its their money...

They say the Texas schools breed champions and I would say that is true.