Page 14 - School Planning & Management, November 2017

The “Value of” Multi-Million Dollar Sports Venues
wall of glass overlooking the stadium. Floating walls allow the space to be split into three separate rooms. When open, the center seats 500 at banquet rounds or 800 in rows. This multi-purpose space will be used for staff development, school board meetings and banquets, and is rentable by members of the community.
Cunningham indicates that the event center should be addressed as much as the stadium itself. “We have 40 to 60 athletic and 30 to 40 fine arts banquets each spring, held in leased space at local country clubs,” he observes. “All those func- tions will now be hosted at the event center. In fact, between the stadium and the event center, we see a facility that will be used all day, almost every day.”
How does Cunningham respond when asked if the district is building the stadium to remain competitive with sports venues built or being built by other dis- tricts in Texas? In a straightforward manner: “I think there’s certainly a desire in our district to remain competitive in every aspect of what we provide our students
and parents,” he says. “In this regard, we don’t view the stadium any differ- ently than we do our other facilities. Our philosophy is we want to have first-class facilities in every part of our district.
“There is a link between the learning environment and the experience that students get,” Cunningham continues. “That philosophy does not change, regardless of what the facility is for. The stadium is an extension of a compre- hensive education, not an add-on.”
Like for many districts, the sta- dium will be a Friday-night community-gathering place, with hundreds of stu-
dents plugging into the game in different capacities, such as the dance team, cheerleaders, band, and broadcast students. “The community, saw a need for it, and they supported it,” says Cunningham. “We didn’t propose something they didn’t want. If they didn’t want it, it wouldn’t have passed.”
When people move to the North Dallas area, there is an expectation for aca- demic rigor. “But there’s also an expectation for the types of programs that we of- fer our students, Cunningham acknowledges. “I believe that the facilities and the quality of the education we provide are a reason why so many people want to live here. So I think that, if we were sacrificing academics or neglecting other needs district in order to have this venue, it would be much more difficult to defend.”
Zionsville Community Schools (Indiana) St. Vincent Health Stadium
In time for the 2009 football season, Zionsville Community Schools cut the ribbon on a 5,000-seat stadium with supporting fields and buildings on the site of the existing high school. It was funded via proceeds from a 2005 bond issue. In 2006-2008, district administrators decided against building a second high school, choosing instead to keep students together in one building. In doing so, things needed to be moved around. They opted to build a new stadium on the 65-acre high school campus, rather than at an athletic campus located a mile to the west of the main campus.
The stadium is used for football, soccer, lacrosse, rugby and special events. “The former grass stadium allowed just 49 to 50 hours of student time per year because we restricted the activities that could occur there because it required con-
stant re-sodding and repair,” says Zionsville Superintendent Dr. Scott Robison. “In the first year of operating the new stadium, we accommodated 1,500 hours of student time on the field.”
Recently, because of a sprinkler system malfunction, the high school had to be evacuated. “We went to the stadium, where there is water and restrooms,” says Robison. “So, in addition to serving our students’ athletic needs and the commu- nity’s ancillary needs, the stadium serves as a safe evacuation spot.”
The stadium also enabled a major
14 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / NOVEMBER 2017
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