Cy-Fair FCU Stadium a sign of the times
In what has become commonplace at professional and collegiate level, naming rights deals reach ISDs
Cy-Fair FCU Stadium won’t roll off the tongue quite like the Berry Center does.
But the federal credit union will pay the school district $1.5 million over 10 years. The new norm isn’t so new these days.
Stadium naming rights deals are just part of the growing picture of high school football as big business.
From McKinney ISD’s new 12,000-seat, $62.5 million stadium planned for 2017 to Katy ISD’s new 2017 stadium with the same price tag to naming rights deals, the game off the field is continuously changing.
It begs the question: What will the average high school football stadium look like in 10 or 20 years and how will it be built and paid for?
“You’ve got naming rights in professional sports, college and with high schools. I think every once in a while, you’ll get that opportunity to have a situation,” Cy-Fair ISD athletic director Ed Warken said.
Although not a done deal yet, CFISD board members authorized the superintendent to finalize and execute the agreement with the federal credit union earlier this week. The name would only be on the football stadium and not on or inside the basketball arena connected to it.
Warken said the deal has been in the works for a little more than a year. He noted naming rights deals are synonymous with professional sports. There are less Lambeau Fields and more
Mercedes-Benz Stadiums. It’s a mainstay in college football these days as well. Now, it has reached high school football, and not just in Texas.
A recent report in the Chicago Tribune detailed a 10-year, $1.2 million deal between Westfield Washington Schools — a district 25 miles north of Indianapolis — and a healthcare provider to help build a 5,000-seat stadium.
In that same report, Riverside superintendent Kevin Skinkis mentions reading about naming rights deals for Texas high schools and exploring how that could help fund an $8 million renovation of the outdoor athletic complex for Brookfield High School in suburban Chicago.
“School funding in Illinois, every dollar counts, and if we could find a way to lessen the burden on the taxpayer, we thought that would be a fiscally responsible way to proceed,” Skinkis told the Chicago Tribune.
At Cy-Fair, the money isn’t for building new facilities but rather to supplement the district’s overall bottom line. Teresa Hull, an associate superintendent at Cy Fair, said the money from the naming rights deal will go back into the district’s general operating budget. In exchange, Cy-Fair FCU is the only financial institution that gets signage throughout the stadium. Let’s make a deal
New Caney ISD’s deal with Texan Drive — a car dealership — is for $300,000 over five years. Brent Sipe, the New Caney ISD director of sports activities and facilities, described it as a unique opportunity for both sides.
“I think it was a win for us,” Sipe said. “Obviously, we got some cash out of the deal, and that’s never bad.
“I think for the kids, they’re the ultimate winner. They get to play in a venue that’s named, which is typically not always been the norm for high school stadiums. I think it’s a win for everybody.”
Sipe could see more naming rights deals strike up with high schools in the future. It’s not quite the norm yet, but already it’s certainly not out of the ordinary. Woodforest Bank Stadium in Shenandoah is another example.
McKinney’s new stadium has made the most noise recently, reminding everyone how big high school football has become.
It is thought to be the most expensive high school football stadium in the country at $62.5 million.
However, McKinney ISD athletic director Shawn Pratt told the Dallas Morning News the stadium’s cost is actually $50 million with an additional $12.5 million in infrastructure.
It’s similar to Katy ISD’s new stadium scheduled to open in 2017. That will cost $62.5 million as well after Katy ISD board members approved $4.5 million in extra spending.
Sipe doesn’t think Texan Drive Stadium could be built for the $20 million it was in 2014 in today’s market simply because of the rising cost of construction. The 8,500-seat stadium will begin its third year of use in September.
It already seems like the $60 million price tag for Allen’s Eagle Stadium is forgotten about. All in the perspective
Then, there is the outside perception that the way Texas does high school football stadiums is too much.
Katy ISD ran into early local opposition over the price tag for the new stadium.
A commercial bump on Adult Swim recently poked fun at the expensive high school football stadiums in Texas.
Sipe said those who don’t understand usually aren’t from here.
“Too much and too outrageous is dependent on where you are,” Sipe said. “If you’re up in the Northeast where high school football is not as big, you would think that would probably be too much and out of the norm.
“But I think down here, we want to provide nice things for our kids, and I don’t apologize for that.”