Salado Opens New Football Stadium as Fast-Growing Texas District Unveils New High School Campus

As one of Texas' fastest-growing school districts prepares for the 2026-27 school year, Salado High School is opening a new 250,000-square-foot campus highlighted by a new football stadium that school officials believe will become one of Central Texas' premier Friday night venues.

According to reports by KXXV News and KCENTV.com, the new campus includes a football stadium, expanded career and technical education facilities and upgraded athletic spaces as enrollment has nearly doubled over the past decade.

New Stadium Becomes Centerpiece Of Growing District

The new stadium, which seats between 5,000 and more than 5,700 fans depending on its configuration, anchors a comprehensive athletic complex designed to support football, band, cheer and other student activities.

When Salado hosts Troy on Aug. 28, the Eagles will become the first football team to play in the new venue, officially ushering in a new era for the program.

Head football coach Ricky Beaty told KCENTV.com he expects the facility to become one of the premier high school football venues in the region.

"It's gonna be an atmosphere that's second to none, especially in 4A, but really all of Central Texas," Beaty said. "This is going to be one of the better atmospheres that you can kind of create for high school football in the area."

The larger stadium also solves one of the district's longtime challenges.

Beaty said the larger stadium finally gives the community enough seating to accommodate demand on Friday nights.

Athletic Facilities Receive Major Upgrade

The stadium is part of a larger athletic complex featuring a modern weight room with 32 lifting stations, new locker rooms, coaches' offices, meeting spaces and a dedicated sports medicine center.

The improvements also allow Salado's athletic programs to remain entirely on campus, eliminating the need to travel elsewhere for football games and workouts.

"This is our home now," Beaty told KCENTV.com. "We have a nice place to go practice, play and work out."

The new stadium also honors one of the school's recent athletic milestones with a tribute to Salado's 2025 boys soccer team, which captured the first state championship in program history.

District Growth Drives Campus Expansion

The new campus is the latest response to Salado ISD's rapid enrollment growth.

"This is my 16th year as superintendent of Salado ISD and we have about doubled in size during that time," Novotny told KXXV News.

Along with the athletic improvements, the campus includes expanded career and technical education spaces featuring robotics, health science, welding, veterinary technology, media production and a commercial-quality culinary arts kitchen.

Community Looks Ahead To New Chapter

Assistant superintendent Ted Smith said the new facilities finally match the quality of the students, staff and community.

"One of the things that we've known for a long time about Salado is that we have fantastic kids, we have fantastic parents, we have fantastic families, we've got great staff members and we have lackluster facilities," Smith told KXXV News. "This new stadium holds 5,000 people. It's gonna give space for everyone, but it's still gonna remain that special culture that we have in Salado."

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