First game to be held Aug. 30 at stadium
The opening of the McKinney ISD stadium and community event center has been delayed due to cracks in concrete at the stadium, according to a presentation during a MISD special meeting May 29.
Cracks at the approximately $70 million stadium are located in the home concourse, visitor concourse and home and visitor concourse lower bowl wall. These areas were brought to the attention of Manhattan Construction and Stantec in January.
MISD hired Nelson Forensics, an investigative and forensic engineering organization, in April to review the areas of concern.
“All I have to report at moment, even though this began back in January, is that we are investigating what is going on with the home concourse, the visitor concourse and that lower bowl concourse wall,” MISD Chief Financial Officer Jason Bird said during the meeting. “In short, we have greater than anticipated cracking. … We have not completed the investigation; we are still working through that investigation.”
Bird said the report should be complete “in the next several weeks.”
The report will be used by MISD, Manhattan and Stantec to determine appropriate solutions and potential costs associated with fixing the cracked concrete.
Any financial costs associated with the three areas of concern will be resolved by the existing stadium budget or by Manhattan or Stantec, MISD board President Curtis Rippee said during the meeting.
The No. 1 priority is the stadium is used and enjoyed for the next 50 years, Bird said.
“Based on the acknowledgment that the stadium and community event center is a 50-plus year facility, where long-term durability and low maintenance are paramount and use and ownership are not piecemeal, it would be imprudent to prioritize a mandated completion and occupancy date at this time,” according to the presentation.
The original completion date for the stadium was December 2017 but was moved to May 2018, according to the presentation. The first football game is scheduled to be held Aug. 30 at the stadium.
While the investigation continues, work on other portions of the stadium and event center are expected to take place. All other work on the stadium should be complete by the June 26 board meeting, Rippee said.
When complete, the stadium will feature 12,000 seats, 2,000 parking spaces and a community events center.
“The McKinney ISD stadium and event center will be unique in that the facility serves as both a stadium and as a community events center with a banquet room,” said Cody Cunningham, chief communications and support services officer at MISD, in a previous interview with Community Impact Newspaper. “This multipurpose facility will not only support football, soccer and band, but the event center will be used for student banquets and teacher professional development.”
Funding for the stadium comes from the $220 million 2016 bond program.
