Silly Money
Oops! Notorious $60 million high school football stadium to get a $2 million repair
Allen ISD board members are prepared to spend up to $2 million to repair the notorious $60 million high school football stadium in North Texas, which shuttered in May due to significant structural problems. The 18,000-seat Eagle Stadium was designed by PBK Architects and built by Pogue Construction, and both companies originally agreed to pony up $2 million in an escrow account.
But according to superintendent Lance Hindt, a "legal snarl" upended those plans. To cut through the red tape, the board proposed two new resolutions related to funding the extensive repair project.
Eagle Stadium, which was built in 2012 for that $60 million, is expected to be out of commission for the entire 2014-2015 school year.
The first delegates the task of securing repairs to Hindt; the second authorizes up to $2 million in existing bond funds to get the job done. Both were approved at a Monday night board meeting.
Eagle Stadium, which was built in 2012 for that $60 million, is expected to be out of commission for the entire 2014-2015 school year.
The so-called "traditional methods" of financing the stadium repairs through the Texas Education Code "will substantially delay and impair returning the stadium to service," the resolution reads.
Examples of the structural problems at the stadium include insufficient steel framing and concrete columns, "particularly in high winds for the press box and scoreboard."
Even though the board is willing to put its own $2 million on the line to expedite repairs, it isn't giving up its legal rights to eventually order Pogue and PBK to pay up.
"Nothing contained in this resolution shall be deemed a waiver or relinquishment of AISD's right to recoup all such amounts from parties that may be responsible for making those repairs," the document reads.