House Park was originally built in 1939. On Memorial Day 2015, the downtown stadium that hosts football games for Austin, Anderson and McCallum high schools flooded and was closed down for months of repairs. However, more than 70 years after its construction, House Park still stands in the middle of an ever-changing downtown Austin. It now has a new turf field that was installed four years ago after the flood, but the rest of the stadium’s amenities are aging and in need of repair. On Aug. 12, AISD staff presented a draft of the district’s 2019 Facilities Master Plan, which outlines potential upgrades to the district’s athletics, fine arts and career and technical education. According to that master plan, House Park’s issues include no parking lot lighting—which creates a safety hazard during night games—press boxes that are undersized and don’t meet accessibility or safety codes, concrete bleachers with exposed rebar, restrooms that are in need of replacement and concession stands that are too small. “Almost every element of House Park is in need for an improvement or upgrade,” the master plan draft said. According to the report, House Park is used on about 42% of the days that it is open. The stadium is split nearly in half between events, with 50.5% of its usage coming from football games and 49.5% soccer matches. In the 2018-19 season, the field was also used for youth Pop Warner football games and as a home field for the Austin Sol, a professional ultimate frisbee team. The report does not outline any specific costs for any of the three House Park scenarios or any upgrades at the other facilities throughout the district. However, it does say generally that a future bond referendum will be necessary to fund the 2019 Facility Master Plan’s recommendations. “Bond referendum language will clearly outline the scope of work for each facility, in the short term and long term,” the report says. The report presented three scenarios for the park—renovations, large scale renovations and a rebuild. A final version of the Facilities Master Plan will be presented to AISD trustees for approval this October.