High school football in Texas is king. Just look at their stadiums:

[SmileyBoy]

Now, as somebody who doesn't live in Texas, I was SHOCKED and AMAZED at the stadiums some of these high school teams play in. Hell, here in North Dakota, most rural teams play on a cow pasture with a trailer hitch to the side for concessions. But most I-AA college football teams would KILL to have stadiums like these. And remember, these are all for HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS!!!

Now I'm a big football fanatic, but even I know that this is just a waste of monetary resources. I mean, think of all the computers and science equipment high schools in Texas could have built instead of these monstrosities. I mean, almost all of these stadiums could qualify as the 2nd-largest football stadium in the state of Minnesota...

These are ALL HIGH SCHOOL stadiums, ALL IN TEXAS.

Texas, where are your priorities???









































































































































































































Here's some of the INDOOR PRACTICE FACILITIES some of these Texas high school teams have. My college's I-AA football team would KILL to have the training facilities that some of these Texas high schools have:

















It's crazy...

[JohnKleeb]

1. This is uhhhhhhh why Texas has one of the worst education systems

in the country. Now I love football a lot but c'mon y'all isnt that just a little extravagant. Our stadium is your typical high school stadium, the perimeter of the field is the track and it has two sides, one for home fans and one for away.

[Bouncy Ball]

2. Yep, we're idiots.

But then, I know a lot of those districts you posted the stadiums for and they tend to be way high, socio-economically.

The district we're in just re-did their stadium and it's pretty nice, but it's not like those. Our district isn't wealthy.

I've always wondered why we don't put a lot of that money into computers, textbooks, teacher pay, SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

But hell, that wouldn't be any good, right? :eyes:

Oh P.S. Even the middle school football fields are highly nice.

[JohnKleeb]

3. It would be good

and I am a huge ass football fan.

[marzipanni]

55. huge ass...?

as in barcolounger butt or sofa spread? ;)

[marzipanni]

56. Or sex education , not to change the subject or anything...

<snip>
Into the culture wars steps 15-year-old Shelby Knox of Lubbock, Texas. A self-described "good Southern Baptist girl," Knox herself has pledged abstinence until marriage. When she finds that Lubbock has some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in the state, and her county's high schools teach abstinence as the only safe sex, she becomes an unlikely advocate for comprehensive sex education, profoundly changing her political and spiritual views along the way.
Winner, Excellence in Cinematography Award, Documentary — 2005 Sundance Film Festival

Broadcast Date:
Tuesday, June 21, 2005 at 10 PM (90 minutes)
(check local listings)
more:http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/shelbyknox/

[toddzilla]

4. too funny

yet another reason why i have written off the human race as a complete joke.

we dont' need no book learnin when we gots football!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. NJ gets back $.57 cents...

For every federal tax dollar it sends to Washington. Other northern states have similar dilemmas.

Do the math.

[texas1928]

6. All of these schools are in class 5-A Districts.

They are huge schools. Lots of Donor money and the like. Yes it is wrong but, they have the money to spend on it. If you could see their class rooms and computer labs you would understand that is taken off. These are some of the best schools in the state. I am not defending the expense, just my state.

[SmileyBoy]

8. So you're saying that these schools have good science and computer labs??

:shrug:

[texas1928]

11. When I was in High School here and visited some of those schools...

you listed I would have killed for the computer and science labs that they have. I went to a small school and we did not have half the things they did. They have the money to spend. Plain and simple.

[lastliberalintexas]

57. A lot of them actually do

Not that the teachers are allowed to teach, though. Our system was the basis for NCLB, after all. But for most of these schools, money is no object. They are in property rich areas (google Galena Park and refineries), and this becomes a competition for which district can have the best facilities- of every kind.

Again, I'm not saying the kids are actually learning anything. But yes, you'd be amazed at some of the science labs in wealthy mostly repub Plano, as well as their district radio station and high tech computer labs.

Meanwhile, schools in the Valley go without textbooks and deal with crumbling buildings, since their land values are either very poor or are mostly exempted as ag land. It's what you get when you try to finance the school system through local property taxes and allow the local school boards to decide how the money gets spent.

[Catch22Dem]

9. And each game brings in a SHITLOAD of money

because those stadiums are PACKED where they sell overpriced food and goodies. Our town's high school is that way (Okla.) an ENORMOUS stadium, but shitloads of revenue. Best school in the State.

[texas1928]

16. Yes they bring in tons of money

Some of those schools sell out everygame, and the tickets are not cheap.
part of that money goes to a fund to cover stadium upgrades, and also to fund other nonathletic school programs. A lot of the concession funds go toward the band program and other school groups. They allow them to run and collect the revenue from the sales.

[JohnKleeb]

18. how much are tickets?

I know it cost 4 dollars in advance here to buy a ticket and 5 dollars at the gate.

[Catch22Dem]

20. Honestly I'm not sure

I wanna say they're around $20 or so. Not for students, of course, but for adults. I think playoff games are even more.

[JohnKleeb]

23. Jesus Christ

Ive bought cheaper tickets when I go to Baltimore for a baseball game.

[Catch22Dem]

32. Yeah, it's pretty crazy...

I've never been to a game. I didn't go to HS here, and my daughter is only 10, so we're not there yet.

[JVS]

36. 5-A football is a higher level of athleticism than the Orioles

That's why the tickets cost more

[JohnKleeb]

40. This was when the Orioles were a good team smartass

Oh and they aren't that bad of a team. They did win a season series from the world series champions last year, now are they a series caliber team, no but they dont suck.

[JVS]

44. Dude, 5-A is hard-core 6-A is huge!

Orioles cannot compete with that

[JohnKleeb]

46. I dont know the difference between the A's

but I think a team who makes the ACLS should have higher ticket prices than a team of people my age.

[texas1928]

33. That is about right.

some even higher depending on where the seats are at. I am not for sure I have not been to a game since High School and my school as I said was a hell of lot smaller.

[JohnKleeb]

35. Jesus Christ y'all that is nuts

Ours is just as I said 4 if you pay at the school athletics office on the day of the game during lunch and 5 at the game and I think seniors get in free.

[Catherine Vincent]

7. I think you posted too many pics.

And yes, Texas loves it's football. I think Oklahoma is in that category also.

[JVS]

25. Yeah. Too many pictures. This sucks on dialup!

[RagingInMiami]

10. And despite all that

Florida high school football still kicks Texas high school football's ass.


In Miami, our high schools play in nice stadiums, but they weren't built specifically for high school football. Some are former horse and dog race tracks.

[mark414]

13. have you seen video of noel devine on sunshine preps?

holy shit that kid's amazing...let me find the link...

here ya go:
http://sunshinepreps.net/content/view/56/1/

[RagingInMiami]

28. Damn, that kid has some moves and speed

I had never heard of him until now. I hope he becomes a Miami Hurricane.

[jackster]

37. my little shitty high school in north florida

had a better stadium than Harvard I noticed when I moved to Boston 25 years ago TOMORROW!

Of course, the education I got sucked, but wow, those Friday nights were great!

[SmileyBoy]

41. A better stadium than HARVARD'S???

Hmmmmm... I don't think so....

[TheMightyFavog]

43. By comparison, this is where my School Plays

Goerke Field, our home turf for football. We share this facility with the Stevens Point High School.

[RagingInMiami]

45. I'm sure they could probably beat the Harvard football team as well

[jackster]

48. naaahhhh

they've never been really good - just a podunk town with a no future and nothing else to do on Friday nights!

[mark414]

12. damnn that's fuckin awesome

ha football is so great

[JohnKleeb]

14. You know what would be even more great

if I could have been able to play :shrug: sure I am slow and hate exercising but damnit to think I would have had a jersey with my name on it for homecoming.

[mark414]

17. yeah i wish i would've played in high school

im pretty skinny but i'm tall and long and fast, probably could've made a decent WR...but oh well, once it gets warm i always play sunday morning football with some friends in one of the parks here...great times...

[JohnKleeb]

21. Oh yeah playing football is great

I actually make a pretty decent QB, Receiver, and sometimes Ive been a back. Not a bad defensive line guy either. I remember playing with a friend who is a year older than me and he actually played on the team at one of hte other high schools, and I brought him down, it was awesome.

[SmileyBoy]

30. I played in high school...

But I mostly warmed the bench.

I got a few plays in at my senior year, though.

[JohnKleeb]

31. Yeah

I actually know quite of few our our better players but we're best at basketball and track not football.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

15. What a waste!

Those are some nice stadiums! I've complained for years that the HS worships sports and ignores academics, but compared to that we are on the ball. Our school is just a puny AAA that may be why ours looks like junk compared to those. Geeze, spend some money on education people!

[Blue-Jay]

19. I'll need a few more pics in order to formulate an opinion.

fer fuck's sake.

[sasquatch]

22. We've got a couple high school stadiums in Ohio that are bigger than that

In Canton, the local high school stadium is where they play the preseason Hall of Fame game. Their rival Massillon's stadium is just as big too.

[SmileyBoy]

29. I have a pic of Massillon's stadium somewhere...

And yes, Massillon's is GIGANTIC.

[jakefrep]

52. In my town in NW OH, they just plunked down $1,000,000 for a new stadium

...all raised through private donations and Personal Seat Licenses (yes, for High School sports). The bad thing is that the new stadium has poorer sightlines than the old stadium at the junior high. The soccer teams get to use the old stadium, which is a better location than the football stadium.

[loro mi dicevano]

24. Ain't never heard of an indoor practice facility.

I'm not kidding! Our high school sticks a big igloo-looking thing over the top of the outdoor football field (what is it with Minnesota and covering their stadiums with huge white things?).

[SmileyBoy]

27. Are you talking about Holy Angels??

I like that inflat-o-dome they have...

[loro mi dicevano]

34. Nope - oh, man, you mean there's ANOTHER one?

Haha, that's insane! :D

[skeeterintexas]

26. One of those is in my school district

and yes, they love their football. Contrary to what someone posted, there are no DONORS involved. Just good ole' bonds that have to paid off later.

My daughter's school doesn't even have an auditorium but they've managed to build 2 athletic houses, one for the boys and one for the girls, with state-of-the-art weight rooms.

Somebody explain that one to me.

[TheMightyFavog]

38. Somone do some research here..

If any federal education money was spent building these monstrosities, there had damn well better be a fucking congressional investigation.

Now if these stadums had been built with soley alumni donations from rich guys like big time olimen and current or former NFL players or something, then I guess it would be OK with me.

[SmileyBoy]

39. It was at least state education money.

And I really don't think donors are involved too much.

[texas1928]

42. There are donors involved.

How do you think those company names get on Scoreboards? They donate big bucks. Hell SBC has their name on Texas Techs Stadium, because they gave them the money to do the upgrades.

[TheMightyFavog]

47. I wonder...

Are any of these facilities at least shared with any local D II or D III colleges?

[SmileyBoy]

49. Kick

:kick:

[yellowdogintexas]

50. yep, it is. However some of these are shared by several schools

All the ones with multiple Mascot Icons on them are shared ..

Fort Worth has 12 (I think) public high schools. I know for sure that 2 of them have their own football fields but they are fairly small. The Fort Worth ISD owns two very large stadiums which are quite nice and are used by all the other schools in the district for football. One is just off the campus at Tarrant County College South and the other is in the cultural district across the street from the Will Rogers Equestrian Center and Coliseum (also owned by the city)

While I am not exactly certain how many of the schools actually have their own fields, I know that several of the largest schools do NOT have the room for a field.

This seems to me to be a great solution in a multiple school area. I know the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools were not that smart, all the campuses there have football fields of some type...although not big stadium style places.

[SmileyBoy]

54. All the Fargo public schools used NDSU's old stadium for many years.

And then when the Fargodome was built (capacity 19,000), they all used that stadium.

Dakotah Field (the old home of the Bison) at one time sat over 15,000. Fargo North, Fargo South and Fargo Shanley all used that stadium until several years ago when the individual high schools each built their own smaller stadium (not larger than 2,500-3,000 each).

I understand that many (if not most) of these stadiums are shared amongst several schools. Especially the grand, huge ones. I'm just peeved at the amount of money that goes into the extravagance of these, while more money could go to other important things.

[flamingyouth]

51. Ever seen "Friday Night Lights"?

There you go.

[AngryAmish]

53. Those stadiums are amazing

Good for them if they want to put those places up.