What does $60 million of wasted tax dollars look like? Drive on over to Allen Eagle stadium for an up-close look. The football mega-complex in Allen ISD that makes most college athletic departments blush has been closed due to safety concerns less than two years since it officially opened to the public. Now, experts say the stadium may need to be partially torn down in order to alleviate the problem.
18 months after taxpayers in Allen ISD opened one of the most expensive high school football stadiums in the country, “extensive cracking” along the concrete concourse of the stadium forced officials to close the stadium out of safety concerns, putting Allen High School’s graduation and home football games in jeopardy.
Now, the Dallas Morning News reports one of the worst-case scenarios may be needed to address the structure issues: a partial teardown of the stadium.
That’s right, an 18-month old $60 million stadium may need to have major components of its structure demolished, and Allen taxpayers will be on the hook for it all.
Pogue Construction, the builders of the stadium, is also in the process of building a $32.5 million service center in the district, as well as other projects across the state.
While this may be an isolated incident, such an explicit case of wasted tax dollars will hopefully give pause to the next push for an over-extravagant and overly expensive taxpayer-funded bond project.
