Texas has another Friday Night cathedral, but size isn’t everything

Texas high school football has another cathedral for Friday Night Lights with the opening of Katy ISD’s new $72 million Legacy Stadium.

It might be the coolest and newest and most expensive high school stadium built in the state, but it’s nowhere near the biggest.

In fact, at a capacity of 12,000, Legacy Stadium doesn’t even crack the top 30 in Texas.

Mesquite’s Memorial Stadium is Texas’ largest high school stadium with a capacity of 20,000. Farrington Field in Fort Worth and Alamo Stadium in San Antonio come in right behind at 18,500.

What Legacy Stadium lacks in seating capacity, however, it makes up for in amenities.

It includes a 1,500-square-foot video board at one end and a large event space, along with the usual field house, 2,600-square-foot locker rooms and offices on the other end. There are two concession stands on either side of the stadium.

Groups can rent out a room with 35 reserved seats above the end zone during games for $1,500. The home side of the stadium has three levels and includes two elevators, one for the media and one for coaches.

The stadium was designed by HKS Inc. of Dallas and VLK Architects of Fort Worth.

The estimated cost of the stadium in 2014 was $57 million, according to the Houston Chronicle. An extra $12.3 million was added to include the field house, parking lot, exterior lighting, surrounding roadwork and utilities.

Legacy Stadium’s title for most expensive high school stadium in Texas (and probably America) isn’t likely to last long. McKinney ISD is building a 12,000-seat stadium set to open in 2018. The estimated $69.9 million cost is likely to go up before the first touchdown is scored.

This story was originally published August 18, 2017 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Texas has another Friday Night cathedral, but size isn’t everything."