$60 million Texas high school stadium unsafe, to close this season

The $60 million Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas is closed only two years after opening. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A $60 million high school football stadium in Texas was deemed "not safe for public assembly," and will not be used this season, reports the Dallas Morning News.

Because of design flaws at the stadium's concourse level that contributed to the cracking, weight could not be sustained at the 18,000-seat Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas, according to the report.

Cracking at the stadium was first discovered in February after engineers have found design deficiencies at the concourse level.

The stadium opened in 2012 and the Allen football team, who won the Class 5A Division I state championship last season, will now play their home games in Plano this season. No season tickets will be sold and Allen will pay Plano $5,300 for each game.

"The stadium is not safe for public assembly," superintendent Lance Hindt said. "I can’t speculate whether this will be litigated in the future,” Hindt said. “All I can tell you is we’re going to get the stadium we paid for.”

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Allen ISD staff observed the cracking getting worse. In August, the board hired Nelson Forensics to investigate. District leaders announced in February that they had closed the stadium as a safety precaution.

Officials said they will wait until the report is complete to make decisions about repairs. Fixing the stadium could take six to eight months, Hindt said.

In a preliminary report, Nelson Forensics had suggested tearing down the faulty structures or sealing the cracks with epoxy. The school board will be prudent in deciding how to fix the stadium, board President Louise Master said.