Some question SISD’s $67 million price tag for student activities complex

Last week voters in the Socorro Independent School District approved a $448 million bond.

Sixty-seven million dollars are earmarked for athletic improvements.

Included in those improvements is a new student activities complex but one ABC-7 viewer contacted the station questioning the cost — saying another high school in Texas has built a larger football stadium for the same cost.

The famed Eagle stadium in Allen, Texas holds 18,000 fans.

Since Socorro’s student activities complex opened in the year 2000 it has hosted thousands of football games, some soccer matches, track and field events and even graduation ceremonies.

The price tag came in at around $9 million and it seats 11,000.

District officials are now preparing to build another smaller students activities complex that will seat around 8,000.

But in 2012 the Allen Independent School District opened the doors to Eagle stadium.

The stadium is touted for being the largest in Texas.

“The Allen facility seats an upwards of 18,000 students it has a lot of amenities underneath the stadium. It’s got weight rooms, it’s got driving golf ranges, it’s got a lot of stuff we are not going to have,” said Tom Eyeington, SISD’s chief operation officer.

Media reported the price tag for the Allen stadium was $60 million.

So why is the district constructing a 8,000 seat stadium with a higher cost?

“Their $60 million is probably brick and mortar cost,” Eyeington said.

Allens ISD 2009 bond campaign handout shows the cost at a little more than $59 million for construction.

Eyeington says the $67 million from the bond will not only go for construction.

“All of the bond costs that we promoted for the last six months is inclusive of fees, design, architecture, land purchase, fixture furniture and equipment and the brick and mortar cost,” Eyeington said.

Eyeington says although it will be smaller than the current complex it will still have the same amenities.

“It’s still going to have the field house capability, the home locker room, the visitor locker rooms, it’s going to have visitor concessions, restrooms of course, a press box and we will also do another video board,” Eyeington said.

Eyeington also says people have to consider inflation.

Eagle stadium was completed in 2012 and five years can bring anywhere from 3 to 10 percent inflation costs.

Design for the stadium is expected begin in a few months.