EAGLE STADIUM MARKS 10 YEARS OF GRIDIRON ACTION

EAGLE STADIUM MARKS 10 YEARS OF GRIDIRON ACTION

BY KEITH TAYLOR, WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT WAS 10 YEARS AGO: On Friday, Aug. 31, 2012, the Allen Eagles football team ran onto the field for the first time in the brand new Eagle Stadium to face the defending state champion Southlake Carroll Dragons. It was an extraordinary night.

“It was a special, special game,” said former head coach Tom Westerberg. “We had more than 22,000 people in the stands and the atmosphere was just electric. It was like being at an early season college football game with a lot on the line. That’s what it felt like. The fans were just fantastic. The excitement was incredible.”

Those 22,000 fans and the atmosphere marked a certain amount of vindication for former Athletic Director Steve Williams, who watched the evolution of the stadium from its beginnings as a discussion item in the Project Kids Committee process to the last brick laid in place during construction.

“We had a lot of detractors taking issue with the stadium,” Williams said. “It was mainly out-of-town press. They said the stadium was too expensive and we would never fill it up.”

With a seating capacity of 18,000, the stadium was more than full. “That night said it all,” Williams said.

As a matter of fact, that night said it all and more. The Eagles went on to defeat Southlake Carroll, 24-0 – for the first time ever. “We had never beaten Southlake before that,” Westerberg said. “They had won the state championship the year before and they still had Kenny Hill (former Texas A&M Aggie and TCU Horned Frog) at quarterback,” he said. “We treated it as business as usual and concentrated on the game. The team really stepped up. Those kids played lights out. It was quite a game.”

That win not only opened the stadium, it also marked an extraordinary run of success that continues to this day.

“That was the beginning of something we may never see again,” Williams said. “That run of state championship seasons – and even a national championship – from 2012-2014 was incredible. The stars just aligned. During that time, we had future Heisman trophy winner and NFL quarterback Kyler Murray on the team. But, it was a true team effort. Those teams had some of the best, most talented athletes we have ever seen.”

The seed of the new stadium was actually planted in 1995 when the Project Kids community study group first identified the need to replace the existing stadium. By 2008, the committee identified the need for a new stadium as critical and the Board of Trustees presented the project to voters in November 2009. The total proposal of $119.4 million, which included the stadium ($59.6 million), a performing arts center ($23.3 million) and service center ($36.5 million) was approved by 64 percent of the voters.

Three years later the new stadium opened to the cheering fans and the somewhat critical, out-of-town public. Then, in the fall of 2013 an investigation into cracks on the stadium concourse led to a forensic engineering investigation. The investigation found structural deficiencies and the stadium closed for a year and the entire 2014 football season was played on the road.

Regardless, the team, known as “The Road Warriors,” was undefeated and won the state championship for the fourth time. Ultimately, repairs were made at no cost to district taxpayers and Eagle Stadium play resumed in 2015.

“When we started planning the stadium, we wanted to make sure we offered the best facility possible for the fans of Eagle football,” Williams said. “They have had to put up with the lack of seats and crowding at the old stadium for a long time.” Despite the repairs, Williams believes the district delivered just what the fans wanted.

“To this day, I still believe that it is the best high school stadium in the state,” he said.

Upon his retirement, the district named the Field at Eagle Stadium the “Steve Williams Field” in honor of his vision and leadership as he led Allen ISD Athletics for 21 of the 46 years he served the district

“That was an incredible honor and a humbling experience,” Williams said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished and what the future holds for that facility.”