Old Dragon Stadium to become a Southlake park celebrating old and new traditions
.JPG "Old Dragon Stadium, seen in this file photo from 2001, is set to become a park.")
Carroll school district’s former Dragon Stadium will likely become a park and a place for youth sports in Southlake.
On Nov. 3, Carroll trustees approved a letter of intent to sell the 15-acre stadium at Carroll Avenue and Dove Road to the city of Southlake.
Jeff Brady, a spokesperson for the district, said the sale price is $8.75 million, but the agreement hasn’t been finalized.
The proposed sale doesn’t include the Carroll school district administration building, he said.
According to a news release from Southlake, the old Dragon Stadium was a place for celebration, competition and community pride.
“Old Dragon Stadium has been home to countless memories for generations of Dragons,” Southlake Mayor Shawn McCaskill said in the news release. “This project is about protecting that legacy while creating something new for the entire community to enjoy. It’s the perfect blend of Southlake’s history, heart, and forward-thinking spirit.”
Southlake wants to retain the “character and spirit of the old football field, and some ideas for the park include flexible practice fields, a playground and a walking trail that celebrates Southlake Carroll’s Dragon football, coaches, players and state championships.
The project is a collaboration between the Parks and Recreation Board, Southlake Parks Development Corp., Carroll ISD, and Dragon Youth Football. Planning designs for the park should begin in 2026.
According to Star-Telegram archives, Football games under Friday Night lights were played for 20 years in the 3,000-seat stadium.
But as Southlake grew in the 1990s, the community needed a larger stadium for its championship team.
The $15.3 million 42-acre stadium, on North Kimball Avenue bordering Grapevine, opened on Sept. 7, 2001, for its first game featuring the Dragons against Haltom High School.
Dragon Stadium was among the Northeast Tarrant stadiums that got a makeover as the area rapidly grew.
Carroll started to outgrow its old 3,000-seat stadium when it reached Class 4A in 1994, when there were five classifications in UIL.
The district had talked about a larger stadium since the early 1990s, but voters didn’t approve a $14.6 million bond package until 1999.