High School Sports

Allen Eagle stadium, a 18,000 seat high school football stadium in Texas, has a shrinkage problem. The $60 million edifice in Allen, Texas, opened two years ago but might need to be torn down partially to fix construction issues that have caused major cracks in the concourse.

The culprit here, according to CBS 11, is shrinkage, or specifically concrete shrinkage.

The report stated the cracks are caused from excessive concrete shrinkage. When concrete dries, some shrinkage and cracks are normal and acceptable, but the report states the cracks at the stadium are “well in excess” of cracking that is considered acceptable.

Allen Eagle stadium is the fourth-largest high school venue in Texas, but the largest that only hosts scholastic games. Located in a wealthy Dallas suburb, it’s also the most costly high school stadium in the state — funded in part by a $119 million bond package voted on in 2009. It features (when open anyways) a 32-foot wide HD video screen, an underground golf simulator and 5,000 parking spaces.

Officials are exploring repair options, which include applying an epoxy to the cracks however that solution “would diminish the stadium’s aesthetics and require periodic repairs and reapplications.” (What a horrifying thought. We wouldn’t want to ruin the stadium’s aesthetic beauty, would we?)

[Was KatyISD going to get all of this for OUR 69.5 million dollar bond item? MM]