HS Stadiums (which are the best in the state)...

[RocklandDragon]

Seeing the movie Friday Night Lights, I wanted to visit Ratliff Stadium. So I decided to take a short trip down to the Permian Basin. During the time I was there, I knew Permian wasn't playing. However, their bitter rival was and I watched Midland Lee beat Port Arthur memorial. Midland's stadium is the best I have EVER seen for a high school team. The concession stands, the seats, the sights, just awesome. I drove by Odessa and some teams were playing at Ratiff so I went inside and their stadium is epic. It has an Roman Coliseum type effect--the sound carries great, not a bad seat anywhere. Then I went to Amarillo to see the newly renovated Dick Bivins stadium and was just surreal. I couldn't believe how much Amarillo treated their football programs so well--their stadium is better than some local colleges. My cousin attended the game as well and he was awestruck. "They don't have anything like this in Six-Man football." I wish Lubbock would do the same for their football. What I want to know is what stadiums do you all out there believe are the best 5A-4A High School football stadiums. :D Will swing by Abilene to check out Shotwell stadium. I hear that venue is supposed to be great too.

[cougardude]

Shotwell Stadium in Abilene is one of the older stadiums around, but it is being renovated parts at a time. They just recently finished a new dressing room building and new restrooms. I think there are plans to redo the pressbox at some point. I agree that Grande Communications Stadium in Midland is one of the best around. And Ratliff is a good one too!

[farmerfan]

Ratliff and Shotwell are two of my favorites, Shotwell more than Ratliff just because I have seen more games there, it has a great playoff atmosphere.

Some of my other favorites include
Gordon Wood in Brownwood- it is very nice with the exception of getting in and out of the stadium

Grosebeck- might be the nicest 3A stadium I have ever seen, it was the sight of my last high school football game, but it is a jewel of a stadium

Plano's John Clark Stadium- I hold this one in high regards as well, it is huge and nice, if they could get a new playing surface it would be be a top draw for playoff games.

[KT2000]

As far as HS specific stadiums go...

Galena Park ISD Stadium (Houston)
Grande Communications Stadium (Midland)

Those are my two favorite, and I also like Tully Stadium in Houston.

[ktCarl]

As far as HS specific stadiums go...

Galena Park ISD Stadium (Houston)
Grande Communications Stadium (Midland)

Those are my two favorite, and I also like Tully Stadium in Houston.
I like Tulley too. Pridgeon (Houston) is good stadium also.

[c-lisle]

I was really impressed with Mesquite's stadium. Really nice facility alll the around. Jumbotron and everything.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

I like ol' Abe.


I like our stadium because it seems gloomy, kinda spooky.


Rose stadium is the best i've been at along with memorial stadium here in WF-------reminds me of a little junior shotwell stadium.

[CyFallsMom]

I like Tulley too. Pridgeon (Houston) is good stadium also.


Ah, Tully - I've spent many a night in that place - I got in trouble the night it opened for rolling down the newly planted grass on the hill. I have met Darrell Tully too - he was a local legend. It has withstood the test of time and is still a nice stadium, unless you have to take that ramp to the top!! I don't know if anyone has seen the newest issue of Texas Monthly with Mack Brown on the cover but there is a photo essay called Fields of Dreams and it is pics of high school stadiums around Texas. There are some very small ones (like Verbest and Happy) and some bigger ones, including Tully and the best part is it says "Tully Stadium - Spring Branch High School (go BEARS - get all the credit you can).

I now go to most of my games at Pridgeon obviously but still have fond memories of Tully. I was glad to see the new projection screen on the scoreboard at Pridgeon but when it goes to the replay, it makes the most annoying sound. I do like watching the replays though. The new stadium looks like it will be even nicer and is only 2 miles away from me. I think it will have a brick facade to match the new coliseum next door.

[Mavs D End]

I think the field is called Allen stadium, i am not sure, It's where the Allen Eagles play. Anyway, its amazing. New turf-grass field along with the the new stadium and scoreboard with instant replay, just amazing. if your ever in the Allen area, go check it out

[CoveFan05]

Round Rock ISD stadium is one heck of a high school stadium. Go to play there last year and the place was packed.. At least 12,000 fans

[TWHPA]

The Woodlands would have had a new stadium for the class of 2007 but the railroad made some drainage changes on their land that created a 17 acre lake on our stadium land. The state has deamed it as protected wetlands now and we cannot build on it. I believe CISD has a lawsuit against the railroad but the stadium is off untill new land can be purchased...

[SLCDad]

I like Birdville ISD stadium. They have a jumbotron with 3 camera instant replay. Great turf field. I've never seen the 12,500 seats all filled. Wide aisles. Good access. Comfortable seats.

Just goes to show what can happen when a district is on the receiving end of Robin Hood. :D :D

[ALLIN]

The new Denton Stadium is Legit.

[bhs06]

Cowboy Stadium

[lonny23]

I like Grande in Midland the most. Ratliff is cool. Waco is nice, but a little bit too small. Gordon Wood is too small. I like Sam Parker Field in Mt. Pleasant a lot.

The Alamodome is awesome. They have tripleheaders in the playoffs and IT'S INSIDE WHEN IT'S COLD! They also play a title game there every year.

[ThEgReAtOnE]

Mesquite Memorial (Big. Gots the freakin' Eiffel Tower, or that's what I call it, in the end zone.)

Tully Stadium (AWESOME!!!)

HBJ (Being built into the ground...also has the grass hill. 15,000 cap.)

Rose Stadium (awesome)

Galena Park stadium (Very big.)

Mercer Stadium (The whole setting and campus looks like a junior college. Real Nice.)

Rhodes isn't too bad either.

The worst stadiums I've seen are...

DELMAR. (Wow....that thing is horrid.)

La Marque's stadium! (Better wear steel toe boots, there!)

Ranger JUCO Field (OMG....it should be bulldozed immediately.)

Cardinals Nest Stadium (What the heck is it? No really?!)

[lonny23]

Mesquite Memorial (Big. Gots the freakin' Eiffel Tower, or that's what I call it, in the end zone.)

Tully Stadium (AWESOME!!!)

HBJ (Being built into the ground...also has the grass hill. 15,000 cap.)

Rose Stadium (awesome)

Galena Park stadium (Very big.)

Mercer Stadium (The whole setting and campus looks like a junior college. Real Nice.)

Rhodes isn't too bad either.

The worst stadiums I've seen are...

DELMAR. (Wow....that thing is horrid.)

La Marque's stadium! (Better wear steel toe boots, there!)

Ranger JUCO Field (OMG....it should be bulldozed immediately.)

Cardinals Nest Stadium (What the heck is it? No really?!)
That Eiffel Tower is the radio station antenna that broadcasts the games.

[ThEgReAtOnE]

That Eiffel Tower is the radio station antenna that broadcasts the games.

I played there at least 10 times when I was high school....and I never noticed it was a radio antenna!

It still looks like the freakin' Eiffel Tower...and that's what makes it look cool!!!

[CyFallsMom]

DELMAR. (Wow....that thing is horrid.)

DITTO - my cousin played there in the early 70's and it was awful then...that's worse than the junior high field - HISD should be ashamed.

[lonny23]

I played there at least 10 times when I was high school....and I never noticed it was a radio antenna!

It still looks like the freakin' Eiffel Tower...and that's what makes it look cool!!!
I like that stadium, too. If you're going to build a stadium, make it big enough to seat everybody!

[ThEgReAtOnE]

I like that stadium, too. If you're going to build a stadium, make it big enough to seat everybody!

Yeah! I hear yeah, there!!

[rantanamo]

Kincaid is definitely up there. Jumbotron. Cool layout. Just simply a very nice place.

Round Rock ISD

Mesquite Memorial

Kimbrough in Murphy

Wiley's Pirate Stadium

Gopher-Warrior Bowl post renovation

lots of nice places to play

[unbiasedobserver]

Waco has a pretty nice stadium. I think it is Waco University. Aling the same lines as Galena Park.

[GTown02]

Kimbrough is very nice...

My favorites are Mesquite Memorial and Hanby... I love the Tower next to Memorial, and the renovations Mequite ISD did to Hanby when Mesquite won state in 01 are unbelievable... big changes made with the new jumbotron...

[ThEgReAtOnE]

Oh and the new Jesse Owens complex is nice!!

Williams, in Garland, is nice.

And Hanby, in Mesquite, has seriously been renovated. They have the new turf, new stands and a jumbotron. Pretty nice!!

Dragon Stadium is something else! Wow! You can tell who has serious money!

[dragonfootballfan]

I loved Baylor's stadium in Waco to watch the dragons last year

[GTown02]

I loved Baylor's stadium in Waco to watch the dragons last year
Flloyd Casey Stadium?

[DragonWatcher]

Man if you liked Floyd Casey from the outside you should see Baylor's home lockerroom on the inside. They have like 15 lazy boy couches and like 5 big screen tv's with another 10 tv's mounted on the wall. I honestly expected the walk between the locker room and the stadium to have been paved with gold after seeing how nice the locker room was.

[ThEgReAtOnE]

Man if you liked Floyd Casey from the outside you should see Baylor's home lockerroom on the inside. They have like 15 lazy boy couches and like 5 big screen tv's with another 10 tv's mounted on the wall. I honestly expected the walk between the locker room and the stadium to have been paved with gold after seeing how nice the locker room was.

I visited Penn State out of High School...there's nothing that compares! Been to Baylor plenty of times, but it doesn't hold a candle to Penn State. Heck aggy land looks better than almost all, including UT, but PSU is out of this world.

Miami doesn't look too bad, either. Florida State's locker room is awesome.

I've been to South Bend once....the visitor's locker room. All I remember is how cold it freakin' was. It's very traditional. Sacred.

Baylor is nice....but PSU is awesome.

[lonny23]

Man if you liked Floyd Casey from the outside you should see Baylor's home lockerroom on the inside. They have like 15 lazy boy couches and like 5 big screen tv's with another 10 tv's mounted on the wall. I honestly expected the walk between the locker room and the stadium to have been paved with gold after seeing how nice the locker room was.
No wonder they lose all the time! It's too nice. They should have a locker room like the dressing area under Noyes Stadium in Paris. There was barely enough room for 20 of us to change clothes next to each other with no seats in the room.

[ThEgReAtOnE]

No wonder they lose all the time! It's too nice. They should have a locker room like the dressing area under Noyes Stadium in Paris. There was barely enough room for 20 of us to change clothes next to each other with no seats in the room.

Try Ranger...they dress in the girls bathroom!

No locker room!

[CenTexFan]

In terms of stadiums I have seen games at, my picks are
1. Round Rock ISD (The Palace)
2. Waco ISD
3. Katy Rhodes
4. Westlake

[dragons08]

The new Denton Stadium is Legit.
yes it is, coppell's also has a nice stadium, my favorite is dragon stadium, nothing beats a game there, its just something about it. you can like feel the intensity in the air. great turf as well, it was awesome playing soccer there, the turf was perfect. the locker rooms are acuttaly pretty nice to. but like i said nothing beats dragon stadium with dragon nation there

[WestTXRebel]

Grande Communications (Midland)
Ratliff (Odessa)

WestTXRebel

[BuffFan2005]

my favorite stadium i ever played in was definetly the Waco ISD`s stadium man i felt at home there.. haha i remember we all stood up in the top bleachers and were taking pictures. I felt as if i were in the NFL. lol

[Texas Bob]

I posted this in July. Maybe it is time to post it again. It is a video with a good mix of stadiums around the state.


http://www.texasbob.com/football/video.html

...also a few Texas High School Stadium Facts & Figures.

http://www.texasbob.com/football/tbt_stadium_fcts.html

[ThEgReAtOnE]

I posted this in July. Maybe it is time to post it again. It is a video with a good mix of stadiums around the state.


http://www.texasbob.com/football/video.html

...also a few Texas High School Stadium Facts & Figures.

http://www.texasbob.com/football/tbt_stadium_fcts.html

awesome!!!

thanx bob!!

[Dallascaper]

Probably the best thread on Texas HS football stadiums:

http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showthread.php?t=1136

The photos are great. Enjoy!

[CoppellCowboy57]

Cowboy Stadium

As in Coppell Cowboy Stadium?

I mean I love the stadium, its a great stadium, they can pack um in there to, if its against slc...but I wouldnt say its the greatist...

My Top 3

3. Gopher Warrior Bowl- Its just a fun place to play, never been there w/ a sell out crowd, but its still a nice stadium to playing...Except the ramp going to the stadium...I was tired just walking up and down that thing during pregame.

2. Round Rock ISD Stadium- I went there during the 2005 Soccer State Championships, Coppell PACKED the stadium with about 7 or 8,000 ppl...(more then most road games for football :)), it was a nice playing field, and had great bathrooms (sorry after a 3 hr drive i had to go)...There score board was pretty sweet too...

1. Dragon Stadium- Home of Dragon Nation, Maybe its just the fans, or atmosphere of playing the #1 team in the nation, maybe its the feeling of being there in early November, in the cold, and the smoke from the smoke machine mixes in with the smoke from tailgaters. But there is NOTHING, like playing at Dragon Stadium...With a home field like that, no wonder they have only lost 1 game there...*caughs COPPELL*

[ThEgReAtOnE]

Probably the best thread on Texas HS football stadiums:

http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showthread.php?t=1136

The photos are great. Enjoy!

Awesome!!

[CoppellCowboy57]

double post but eh, who cares...

Worst Stadiums....

3. Irving ISD Stadium- Man there locker room isnt big enough for a 5A school, plus the vistors side is run down...Even after the renovations, its still one of the worst stadiums ive ever played in/ been to.

2. D.Jesuit- Wow, that place needs some sirous work if there going to play 5A, there visting side does not hold enough to even fit a small crowd like oh lets say...Coppell and a 300 person marching band.

1. I really hate to say it but...Pennington Field. Can u been any stupider, to put the visting teams locker room right under the Home Side of the stadium, so that fans can throw stuff at you as you walk out. There locker room was dripping wet, and gross. Once I was there and the Power Went out during a game...No offense or anything, because all in all its a great stadium, but its designed pretty bad

[zippy]

None can compete with GCS in Midland.


As far as HS specific stadiums go...

Galena Park ISD Stadium (Houston)
Grande Communications Stadium (Midland)

Those are my two favorite, and I also like Tully Stadium in Houston.

[RocklandDragon]

Seeing the movie Friday Night Lights, I wanted to visit Ratliff Stadium. So I decided to take a short trip down to the Permian Basin. During the time I was there, I knew Permian wasn't playing. However, their bitter rival was and I watched Midland Lee beat Port Arthur memorial. Midland's stadium is the best I have EVER seen for a high school team. The concession stands, the seats, the sights, just awesome. I drove by Odessa and some teams were playing at Ratiff so I went inside and their stadium is epic. It has an Roman Coliseum type effect--the sound carries great, not a bad seat anywhere. Then I went to Amarillo to see the newly renovated Dick Bivins stadium and was just surreal. I couldn't believe how much Amarillo treated their football programs so well--their stadium is better than some local colleges. My cousin attended the game as well and he was awestruck. "They don't have anything like this in Six-Man football." I wish Lubbock would do the same for their football. What I want to know is what stadiums do you all out there believe are the best 5A-4A High School football stadiums. :D Will swing by Abilene to check out Shotwell stadium. I hear that venue is supposed to be great too.

Man all these stadiums sound great. Wish I could go to all of them this year.
Unfortunately, theres only 10+ weeks of football a year (wouldn't you know it I have to work on Fridays--I got to stop using my sick days so damn much). Definitely will see the Dragon's lair of SLC and Round Rock's stadium by years end.

By the way, HS playoffs are usually played on Saturday's right?

[ThEgReAtOnE]

Man all these stadiums sound great. Wish I could go to all of them this year.
Unfortunately, theres only 10+ weeks of football a year (wouldn't you know it I have to work on Fridays--I got to stop using my sick days so damn much). Definitely will see the Dragon's lair of SLC and Round Rocks stadium by years end.

By the way, HS playoffs are usually played on Saturday's right?

Right! But I like to do double-header's!!!

[CoppellCowboy57]

Man, I love being at TX stadium for the play-offs I can spend like 6 hours watching football there...It was weird, I was at the SLC game with some friends from Euless last year who were about to play Tyler Lee, and my coaches were right behind me and i was hrm...It was weird

[svrangerfan]

Mesquite Memorial is one of the best. Hanby in Mesquite is also very nice now. I liked the new Denton stadium but there is only 10 feet of space between the field and the stands. Great for fans but not the players.

[odessapermian.com]

I agree with a bunch of these listed. I'll add Dick Bivens in Amarillo. They recently did a big overhaul of the stadium. Very nice.

Socorro Athletic Complex in El Paso is not bad either.

[Mavfan06]

RRISD Athletic complex AKA "The Palace" PWNs all. I think it was something like 20+mil, It was also in a nike comercial I believe. Very nice facility. The jumbotron just adds to its sweetness.

[Redneckn]

Being from out of state, I just want to make sure (and seems that most of you really do) that y'all appreciate the stadiums and atmospheres that are in Texas.

It is NOT like this in Louisiana.. Most of the bigger 5A schools there have stadiums that rival the Hutto Hippos stadium at best.

Generally, 3A and less in Louisiana wont even have play clocks or fully functioning scoreboards.

I've been to some 5A stadiums in Louisiana where the grass was crappy, they had port-a-potties, half working score boards. parking in the grass only.

Football is nice here in Texas. Y'all have it good. :)

[CoppellCowboy57]

Being from out of state, I just want to make sure (and seems that most of you really do) that y'all appreciate the stadiums and atmospheres that are in Texas.

It is NOT like this in Louisiana.. Most of the bigger 5A schools there have stadiums that rival the Hutto Hippos stadium at best.

Generally, 3A and less in Louisiana wont even have play clocks or fully functioning scoreboards.

I've been to some 5A stadiums in Louisiana where the grass was crappy, they had port-a-potties, half working score boards. parking in the grass only.

Football is nice here in Texas. Y'all have it good. :)

oh we do...I love sitting in the stands at nice stadiums...were stuck at ISS for the next weeks though :( (its going to be like our second home...)