You don't need to have ever stepped foot in Texas to fully understand that football is different in The Lone Star State.
Not only do they churn out five-star recruits and future NFL stars in a way that few states can hold a candle to, but there are areas of Texas that have been growing so rapidly that they're constructing top-of-the-line high school stadiums that would make a lot of Division I programs jealous.
A few months back, a charter school in Pennsylvania went viral for their plan to put their 4,000 seat stadium on top of a parking garage in a parking lot they share with a minor league baseball team.
While that one is cool and all, a very, very small Texas High School is preparing to capture the national attention with their plans to build a $21 million stadium.
Before you say anything, I think we all could point to schools in our general region that have constructed a really nice sports complex with a similar price tag, but I feel confident in saying none of them are quite in the same situation at this west Texas school district.
Plains ISD is set to build a new $21 million sports complex. The kicker is they've got an enrollment of about 421 kids.
IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 12th GRADE!!!
I cant remember ever utilizing all caps, but that my friends calls for it.
The entire Plains ISD high school enrollment sits at about 129 kids, which - for you math wizards out there - works out to about 32 kids in each 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade class. The entire town is home to just 1,400 residents.
Compared to a lot of school districts, its an update that is long overdue. Their current football facility hasn't been renovated in about 50 years.
Plains ISD superintendent Scott Mills shared with EverythingLubbock.com, “You know, we’ve got a phenomenal facilities everywhere but down there, so that was part of the thinking behind it. But as far as this whole project coming together, this is all about the community side of the term ‘school community,’ because this project’s going to be part of the community."
The new facility is set to be built on the lot next to the stadium and will include a two-story structure with 50-yards of indoor field turf, updated locker rooms, weight rooms, coaches offices, and a film room that will have functions outside of just football in the facility that is also set to be "multi-purpose."
“We’re going to have it for all of our athletic programs will benefit in some way, shape or form. Then we’re going to have features in this project that even our band kids, our theater kids that there’s going to be a film room in there. We’re going to let them use that film room and there’s a hospitality room that’s going to be in there that we’re going to build up.”
Known as a district that is rich in oil and minerals, Mills shares that tapping into a bond will be a part of the process and that they hope to break ground on an lot that currently sits on a hill next to the current football field.
Plains ISD will break ground in April on the new facility, and it is set to be completed in October of 2027, and EverythingLubbock adds that if there's money left in the budget, they want to target their field with new home stands, press box and concession stands as well.
Read more on the project via this link.