Currently Empty: $0.00
State-of-the-art facilities make Collin County a hot spot for Texas high school football coaches
Since Allen ISD debuted at the $59.6 million, 18,000-seat Eagle Stadium in 2012, other districts in Collin County have followed suit with their own multi-million dollar facilities.
McKinney ISD opened one $69.9 million stadium, 12,000 seats in 2018. Melissa ISD AND Prosper ISD each opened stadiums north of $30 million in the past five years, and Frisco ISD has a partnership with the Dallas Cowboys' Ford Center at the Star practice facility.
That prosperity has proved attractive to coaches who see the affluent area north of Dallas as one of the premiere destinations in Texas to move their families and compete for a state championship.
“I want to live in a place that values what I've chosen to do for my career,” said Todd Dodge. who came out of retirement to coach at Lovejoy.
'The difference between night and day'
Anna's coach, Seth Parr, previously coached at Amarillo Caprock and Lubbock Coronado before taking the job at the school about 46 miles northeast of Dallas.
His teams in the Texas Panhandle didn't have the luxury of practicing in an indoor facility, so players either had to tough it out in the elements or miss practice if the weather was rough enough.
Current Parr players enjoy the benefits of Anna ISD's Multipurpose Activities Center, which opened in 2022. The 61,300-square-foot facility includes a 60-foot field, a 4,000-square-foot weight room, a multi-purpose room, training offices and dressing rooms. It had a budget of $8.8 million.
“Compared to what we have here and what they have, it's a night and day difference,” Parr said. who led Anna to a Class 4A Division I state title last season. “(Recently) it got really hot on the field, so we had to go inside, but we didn't miss a practice because of the indoor facilities.”
The adjacent $21.3 million, 134,200-square-foot Melissa Championship Center opened in 2021. It claimed to be the largest sports facility in Texas with a 5,200-square-foot rehabilitation clinic.
Dodge's Lovejoy boasts a 55,200-square-foot interior. Athletes at Prosper High also use an indoor facility.
“Without our indoor room, our freshmen might not have practiced at all this summer,” Prosper coach Tyler Moore said.
Before Moore joined the Prosper coaching staff, he spent time at Cedar Park in the Austin area.
“The facilities in Collin County are significantly higher,” Moore said. “It has to be one of the best places to experience high school football in the country.”
But in recent years, not every high school football effort has been sparked by members of the Collin County community. Prosper ISD voters turned down a $94 million football stadium in last November's bond election. In May, Anna ISD voters rejected a $100 million stadium proposal for the second time.
However, with the amount of resources Parr currently has in Anna, he shouldn't stress too much.
At previous practice stops, Parr said he had to hustle harder to make sure the players got their needs met. He managed to find success despite those obstacles.
“But it's a lot easier when you don't have to do everything,” Parr said. “The kids appreciate it and play hard and take more pride in themselves. They don't see themselves as funny. It is important to have good uniforms. It's important to treat them right and have nice things because they learn what to expect.”
Point of sale
At Prosper, Moore said the level of athletic facilities is emblematic of all the district offers.
“Obviously football is a big deal in Texas and football drives a lot of these things, but our indoor facility is probably used by some of the other sports on campus more than we are as a football program,” Moore said. “Our football program. Our band uses our main PISD stadium. The community hall there is used almost every day.”
Parr said the facilities in Anna and other Collin County communities help make the schools stand out and set them apart from neighboring competition.
Seeing a beautiful fine arts building would attract children interested in the theater. The same logic applies to athletic facilities, he said.
“Why don't you want to have nice things?” Parr said. “Some people say you don't need all that. And honestly, you don't. But there are some people who say if I can have it, why wouldn't I want them to have it? I always tell people, you either want to be Alabama or Alabama-Birmingham.
Twitter/X: @t_myah
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
