From the Chron:
At $69 million, the 14,000-seat stadium would surpass by almost $10 million one built specifically for the Allen Eagles two years ago. Supporters say it's not a luxury item inspired by the gridiron success of the Katy High School Tigers, who last year won their fourth state championship since 2000. They say it's simply a matter of growth: One stadium cannot handle the scheduling requirements of seven high schools, especially with two or three more to come.
"We didn't do this to be the most expensive or one-up the guy next door," said John Eberlan, a bond project committee member spearheading the publicity effort. "We wanted a good conservative design that will serve the district for years down the road. This is about serving the entire district."
Opponents balk at the cost, regardless of school trustees' insistence that no taxes would need to be raised were the project to pass.
"A $69 million price tag for a second stadium is excessive on the backs of the taxpayers," said Cyndi Lawrence, the head of a Katy tea party organization that opposes the bond project. "I think the people should vote it down and it should go back to the drawing board. We need another committee, an unbiased committee."
The stadium is part of three major capital projects that make up a Katy ISD bond project of just under $100 million. The proposal includes a new agriculture arena along with support facilities and an education center devoted to the so-called STEM subjects of math, science and engineering. But it's the stadium that carries the most cost and has drawn the most controversy - a familiar scenario in countless Texas communities, with accusations of misplaced priorities running up against demands to modernize and expand.
