Texas High School Football Team to Open $40 Million Stadium in 2025

Building stadiums that rival college football facilities isn’t new to Texas high school football. Therefore, add Stephenville High School to the list as they will open a 7,500-seater stadium next year. That number is fascinating, considering the school has a student population of 1,100.

Beneath the Surface News states the $40 million stadium will be completed on May 23, 2025, in time for graduation. Crossland Construction Company is building the stadium, which will have 5,500 seats for the home team and 2,000 for the visitors. Stephenville’s Yellow Jacket Band will also have dedicated seating.

Turf grass will comprise the playing field to reduce maintenance costs. Likewise, finding vehicle space won’t be a problem because 1,686 parking spots will surround the stadium. In addition to football, the school’s varsity soccer team will also use the field for their home games.

While Stephenville ISD’s new stadium has an expensive price tag, it’s still chump change compared to other Texas high school football stadiums. Front Office Sports’ Rodney Reeves wrote on August 24 that Texas has nine of the top ten most expensive high school football stadiums.

Despite the cost, Stephenville’s new stadium befits one of the Texas’ top teams. Last year, they reached the quarterfinals of the University Interscholastic League Conference 4A Division but lost to the Anna Coyotes. This year, they are through to the regionals and will face the Randall Raiders.

The On3 Composite Ranking has Stephenville as the state’s 42^nd-best team. One of their top players is wide receiver and Texas Tech commit Tristian Gentry. They have also produced NFL quarterbacks Kevin Kolb and Jarrett Stidham.

Controversy Surrounds Texas High School Football Team’s Stadium Name

Stephenville will name the football field after Mike Copeland, an icon of the school’s athletic program. Copeland spent nearly five decades building the Yellow Jackets tennis, basketball, track and field, and golf programs. He made the most impact in football as defensive coordinator and head coach.

Meanwhile, the school will name the stadium after former Stephenville head football coach Art Briles. Before coaching at Texas Tech and Baylor, he led the Yellow Jackets to four state titles in 11 years.

Stephenville HS in Texas has just over 1100 students — this is their new 7,500 seat, $40 million football stadium set to open next year #txhsfb pic.twitter.com/XROrUSj0rE

— Texas Football Life (@txfblife) November 13, 2024

However, he had a controversial stint with the Baylor Bears due to the alleged sexual assault scandal involving some of his players. A 2016 investigation by Pepper Hamilton revealed the program’s tone-deaf response to athlete misconduct.

A year later, the Dallas Morning News reported that 31 of Briles’ players committed 52 cases of non-consensual sexual activity from 2011 to 2014. The same publication exposed text messages of Briles trying to silence the investigation.

Baylor was the last college football program that Briles coached full-time. Other schools tried hiring him, but the succeeding backlash left him nowhere. Instead, he found employment as head coach of the Italian Football League’s Guelfi Firenze.