Local stadium plans...

[IndianFan]

Many have called PNGISD out on expenditures.  So what do you think of PAISD and NISD use of tax dollars? 

Nederland is planning field turf and a $1.5+ million press box for the existing stadium even with plans to build a $20M+ athletic complex and new stadium in the not so distant future.

PAISD is planning on doing the following:

Trustees approved GMP Construction to build a new concession stand and press box at the Memorial High School football stadium at a cost of $3,089,947. Johnny Brown, school superintendent, said there is a need to upgrade across the district, including the football stadium.

Port Arthur Mayor Deloris “Bobbie” Prince announced tentative plans to build a sports complex across the street from the new Memorial High School on Ninth Avenue. She said former professional baseball player Chuck McElroy is one of the organizers for the complex that would be the first of its kind in the world. The Cal Ripken Jr. Group is also associated with the project.

Renee Bass with PSD Service is the developer and called the complex a Leed Project — a Green Developments Sustainable Construction that would stand up to the elements, but reuse materials. There would be soccer fields, a swimming pool, an indoor baseball field and an outdoor football stadium.

http://www.panews.com/archivesearch/local_story_058002054.html

Millions of dollars on stadiums that will eventually not be the primary site for competiton?  Just pointing this out to illustrate that your school board is not nearly as extreme as suggested.

[PNG Proud]

Good points IndianFan.     Thanks for pointing that out.

[NDNS81 (Deleted)]

And I am just pointing out (again) that we have schools in horrible conditions, where young children are trying to learn in an environment that is less than satisfactory, not to mention, unhealthy.  But we have a brand new stadium - priorities are out of wack in my opinion.  But I have talked about this until I am blue in the face and would not have brought it up again had it not been for this post- water under the bridge, what is done is done - I frankly do not care what NISD or PAISD - I can't control it - my money has to go to the state, however, I would like to see the "officials" that distribute the "wealth" to other districts, do so wearing tights and a pointy hat with a feather in it!!!  I think it should be manditory for State officials to dress as Robin Hood when dolling out my money, elsewhere...(yes, I know it is done electronically).  It would just make me feel better, that's all.

[IndianFan]

NDNS81, is this blue faced character you?     

Everyone knows all the elementary schools are in bad shape.  Updating the stadium was also necessary and for $9.x million, a very nice stadium has been built that will serve the community well for another 50 years.  It will also be a source of income if used as a playoff venue. 

A single new elementary school would be at least $20M each or more.  The district needs at least 4.  Was a bond for $220+ million to replace all schools at once possible?   It appears that the stadium decision would not make the difference in having all new schools.  Another bond issue will be necessary.  Not anything unusual, every are district is approaching their upgrades in two phases.

The district built a great facility for $9M.  They're not tossing around $2-3 million for upgrades to stadiums that they plan to replace.  There's not a district in the area that needs two stadiums with $2M press boxes and $1M turf fields.  Not even BISD.  If PNGISD had planned that, all heck would have broken loose.  I thought that deserved some recognition.  Not everything is negative.  And comparing the district's actions to others is valid and fair.

[NDNS81 (Deleted)]

No this is me      I give up.   Going back to facebook, it is more fun.  Adios amigos.

[NDNS81 (Deleted)]

NDNS81, is this blue faced character you?     

Everyone knows all the elementary schools are in bad shape.  Updating the stadium was also necessary and for $9.x million, a very nice stadium has been built that will serve the community well for another 50 years.  It will also be a source of income if used as a playoff venue. 

A single new elementary school would be at least $20M each or more.  The district needs at least 4.  Was a bond for $220+ million to replace all schools at once possible?   It appears that the stadium decision would not make the difference in having all new schools.  Another bond issue will be necessary.  Not anything unusual, every are district is approaching their upgrades in two phases.

The district built a great facility for $9M.  They're not tossing around $2-3 million for upgrades to stadiums that they plan to replace.  There's not a district in the area that needs two stadiums with $2M press boxes and $1M turf fields.  Not even BISD.  If PNGISD had planned that, all heck would have broken loose.  I thought that deserved some recognition.  Not everything is negative.  And comparing the district's actions to others is valid and fair.

Another bond will not pass...no more football extras to add to it so that we dummies will vote for it.  That is the true reason for the stadium upgrades, they didn't think we( the people of PN and Groves) would vote for a bond without football getting something out of it - that is how stupid they think we are.  It has been said in public and admitted to.   MB only wanted a new track, that's all.  Nothing more.

[IndianFan]

Everyone recognizes that all the elementary schools need to be replaced.  So why wouldn't it pass?
MB's opinion or not, there was a laundry list of good reasons to modernize the stadium.  It was 56 years old! 

[NDNS81 (Deleted)]

Everyone recognizes that all the elementary schools need to be replaced.  So why wouldn't it pass?
MB's opinion or not, there was a laundry list of good reasons to modernize the stadium.  It was 56 years old! 

It was renovated since being built 56 years ago.  And was not as important to me, as new schools being built.  Those should have been done first, before any stadium renovations, in my opinion.  But it is just my opinion....leave it at that.  What's done is done.  Enough said.   NISD and PAISD are using my tax dollars to make the dreams come true due to taxation without representation!!!  So it does not matter to me, because I have no voice in their district.  Although I think it is sad for us to have to piece mill things together while PAISD gets a totally brand new school and athletic complex using my dollar....It is time for a revolution....

[Tomahawk Chop]

Everyone recognizes that all the elementary schools need to be replaced.  So why wouldn't it pass?
MB's opinion or not, there was a laundry list of good reasons to modernize the stadium.  It was 56 years old! 

It was renovated since being built 56 years ago.  And was not as important to me, as new schools being built.  Those should have been done first, before any stadium renovations, in my opinion.  But it is just my opinion....leave it at that.  What's done is done.  Enough said.   NISD and PAISD are using my tax dollars to make the dreams come true due to taxation without representation!!!  So it does not matter to me, because I have no voice in their district.  Although I think it is sad for us to have to piece mill things together while PAISD gets a totally brand new school and athletic complex using my dollar....It is time for a revolution....

I think what Indianfan is trying to say is he agrees schools need attention. In order for that to happen, a much larger bond needed to be passed. Somewhere in the 220-240 million dollar range. That would have been very difficult to pass. The bond passed gave renovations to all schools, 2 new middle schools, and the new stadium. Take out the stadium portion of the bond and you have enough money to build 1/2 of a new elementary school. There was not enough money in the bond to do what 81 feels like needs to be done. So instead of 1/2 of a new elementary school being built and the others staying the same and the stadium staying the same, we got a new stadium. Seems like a no brainer to me.

[PNGIndianFan06]

Everyone recognizes that all the elementary schools need to be replaced.  So why wouldn't it pass?
MB's opinion or not, there was a laundry list of good reasons to modernize the stadium.  It was 56 years old! 

It was renovated since being built 56 years ago.  And was not as important to me, as new schools being built.  Those should have been done first, before any stadium renovations, in my opinion.  But it is just my opinion....leave it at that.  What's done is done.  Enough said.   NISD and PAISD are using my tax dollars to make the dreams come true due to taxation without representation!!!  So it does not matter to me, because I have no voice in their district.  Although I think it is sad for us to have to piece mill things together while PAISD gets a totally brand new school and athletic complex using my dollar....It is time for a revolution....

I do have a voice in that district but it doesn't matter; there is a machine over there passing the bonds eventhough they do not pay property taxes. It is just crazy! More and more apartments going up everyday in PA.

[Justafan]

Everyone recognizes that all the elementary schools need to be replaced.  So why wouldn't it pass?
MB's opinion or not, there was a laundry list of good reasons to modernize the stadium.  It was 56 years old! 

It was renovated since being built 56 years ago.  And was not as important to me, as new schools being built.  Those should have been done first, before any stadium renovations, in my opinion.  But it is just my opinion....leave it at that.  What's done is done.  Enough said.   NISD and PAISD are using my tax dollars to make the dreams come true due to taxation without representation!!!  So it does not matter to me, because I have no voice in their district.  Although I think it is sad for us to have to piece mill things together while PAISD gets a totally brand new school and athletic complex using my dollar....It is time for a revolution....

I think what Indianfan is trying to say is he agrees schools need attention. In order for that to happen, a much larger bond needed to be passed. Somewhere in the 220-240 million dollar range. That would have been very difficult to pass. The bond passed gave renovations to all schools, 2 new middle schools, and the new stadium. Take out the stadium portion of the bond and you have enough money to build 1/2 of a new elementary school. There was not enough money in the bond to do what 81 feels like needs to be done. So instead of 1/2 of a new elementary school being built and the others staying the same and the stadium staying the same, we got a new stadium. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Don't try and argue the point with NDN81, its a losing battle.

[NDNS81 (Deleted)]

Everyone recognizes that all the elementary schools need to be replaced.  So why wouldn't it pass?
MB's opinion or not, there was a laundry list of good reasons to modernize the stadium.  It was 56 years old! 

It was renovated since being built 56 years ago.  And was not as important to me, as new schools being built.  Those should have been done first, before any stadium renovations, in my opinion.  But it is just my opinion....leave it at that.  What's done is done.  Enough said.   NISD and PAISD are using my tax dollars to make the dreams come true due to taxation without representation!!!  So it does not matter to me, because I have no voice in their district.  Although I think it is sad for us to have to piece mill things together while PAISD gets a totally brand new school and athletic complex using my dollar....It is time for a revolution....

I think what Indianfan is trying to say is he agrees schools need attention. In order for that to happen, a much larger bond needed to be passed. Somewhere in the 220-240 million dollar range. That would have been very difficult to pass. The bond passed gave renovations to all schools, 2 new middle schools, and the new stadium. Take out the stadium portion of the bond and you have enough money to build 1/2 of a new elementary school. There was not enough money in the bond to do what 81 feels like needs to be done. So instead of 1/2 of a new elementary school being built and the others staying the same and the stadium staying the same, we got a new stadium. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Now I understand...thanks.  However, I read somewhere that based on tax revenues and our tax base, our bond limit was somewhere around 224 million.  Would that amount have passed?  I don't know....

[bamakid]

Everyone recognizes that all the elementary schools need to be replaced.  So why wouldn't it pass?
MB's opinion or not, there was a laundry list of good reasons to modernize the stadium.  It was 56 years old! 

It was renovated since being built 56 years ago.  And was not as important to me, as new schools being built.  Those should have been done first, before any stadium renovations, in my opinion.  But it is just my opinion....leave it at that.  What's done is done.  Enough said.   NISD and PAISD are using my tax dollars to make the dreams come true due to taxation without representation!!!  So it does not matter to me, because I have no voice in their district.  Although I think it is sad for us to have to piece mill things together while PAISD gets a totally brand new school and athletic complex using my dollar....It is time for a revolution....

I think what Indianfan is trying to say is he agrees schools need attention. In order for that to happen, a much larger bond needed to be passed. Somewhere in the 220-240 million dollar range. That would have been very difficult to pass. The bond passed gave renovations to all schools, 2 new middle schools, and the new stadium. Take out the stadium portion of the bond and you have enough money to build 1/2 of a new elementary school. There was not enough money in the bond to do what 81 feels like needs to be done. So instead of 1/2 of a new elementary school being built and the others staying the same and the stadium staying the same, we got a new stadium. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Now I understand...thanks.  However, I read somewhere that based on tax revenues and our tax base, our bond limit was somewhere around 224 million.  Would that amount have passed?  I don't know....

Maybe. It would have been harder to sell to the people of PN-G than the $130 Million we passed, though.

[pngfan93]

I don't think our cap was in the $200's. I'd have to find all the paperwork from back then to look though. I'm not sure where it is.

It seems to me like our cap was well lower than that and the committee had to decide whether the secondary schools or elementarys were more important.

[badndn]

I chuckle when I hear people say things like "the stadium got done before the schools, so our priorities must be out of whack!"

The stadium was completed first because of the logistics. No one was displaced and the man power needed was minimal compared to that of a school.

Do you guys really expect everyone in the district to be happy with every decision? Never gonna happen, so you take the good with the bad.

[PNG Proud]

It's my understanding too, that every year, when the engineers inspected the stadium, it would barely pass inspection, due, basically, to it's age.  There comes a time when it's just plain necessary to replace some things, and the old stadium had surpassed that time.  I know the schools are questionable too, and I know they are old, but I've been in just about all of them in the last couple years, and they don't really strike me as being aweful, or unsafe.  Heck, I never had 1 day of air conditioning in school in my life, but if the A/C unit shuts down in a school now, I bet they all go home.
The point is, IMO, the facilities are not the reason that a kid learns, or doesn't learn.  They don't have anything to compare it to, so they don't have any idea that they have it bad.  My son's in the 5th grade at GE and makes all A's.  I'm not gonna tell him his school is falling down around his ears...he might quit learnin'!

[bamakid]

Heck, I never had 1 day of air conditioning in school in my life, but if the A/C unit shuts down in a school now, I bet they all go home.

I wish. That's happened at least once a year at every school I've attended. The teachers just open the windows.

[EX79NDN]

Heck, I never had 1 day of air conditioning in school in my life, but if the A/C unit shuts down in a school now, I bet they all go home.

I wish. Thats happened at least once a year at every school I've attended. The teachers just open the windows.

.......they did not even start to install the a/c into the high school until my senior year. AAAwwww......those where the days. Open windows (every day not just every once in awhile), the silver floor fans that felt like they never did anything, and the nice fresh smell of all the local refineries. Mix all that with the nice smell of the purple ink on the paper and no wonder we looked like we did.  Man, those where the days!!! O I almost forgot the good smell of the cafeteria food when cafeteria food was actually good tasting food. Hot rolls, cinnamon rolls, etc... Damn I am getting hungry just thinking about it. 

[Justafan]

BISD new plans

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/Beaumont_ISD_unveils_virtual_stadium_tour.html

[bamakid]

Heck, I never had 1 day of air conditioning in school in my life, but if the A/C unit shuts down in a school now, I bet they all go home.

I wish. Thats happened at least once a year at every school I've attended. The teachers just open the windows.

.......they did not even start to install the a/c into the high school until my senior year. AAAwwww......those where the days. Open windows (every day not just every once in awhile), the silver floor fans that felt like they never did anything, and the nice fresh smell of all the local refineries. Mix all that with the nice smell of the purple ink on the paper and no wonder we looked like we did.  Man, those where the days!!! O I almost forgot the good smell of the cafeteria food when cafeteria food was actually good tasting food. Hot rolls, cinnamon rolls, etc... Damn I am getting hungry just thinking about it. 

I wish we still had good cafeteria food. It was good through elementary school. Then they implemented all these nutritional regulations, and the food got nasty.

BISD new plans

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/Beaumont_ISD_unveils_virtual_stadium_tour.html

And they say we overspent? I understand that this one is for three schools instead of just one, and that one of their schools is 5A versus our 4A, but that is a huge stadium, and I've never heard of a Westbrook crowd beating a PN-G crowd in terms of numbers. Shoot, the only reason I can see BISD building such a large stadium is to be able to fit the PN-G crowd when we play Ozen and Central.

[IndianFan]

It will only seat around 10-11,000.  Other than being concrete and probably better parking, it has nothing on Indian Stadium.
The fans are what make a great atmosphere.  No amount of stadium expenditure will make a BISD or PAISD game experience anything like a night at The Reservation.

[bamakid]

But still, that's $30 Million, and all anyone can do is say we overdid it with $9 Million. Its not the atmosphere that I was referring to, noone can reproduce that, it's just the staggering price tag that seems to be getting ignored.

[NDNS81 (Deleted)]

But still, thats $30 Million, and all anyone can do is say we overdid it with $9 Million. Its not the atmosphere that I was referring to, noone can reproduce that, it's just the staggering price tag that seems to be getting ignored.

Actually, I have to retract my statement about our stadium, I like the way there is more room in the stands, I like the looks of the purple end zones with Indians written in them and I like the new concessions stand.  I do not like the 3 story press box, I do not like climbing 45 steps to get to seats - I think we just went too high for any normal person to climb.  So, there are things I like and things I don't like.  I think that is fair enough.

[IndianFan]

The press box is only 2 stories.  Eliminating the bottom level reduced the stadium cost by a million bucks or so. 

Most decent sized high school stadiums are around 40-50 rows.  It's the cost of having enough seats.  I think Dayton fans have it worse than Indian fans...

[bamakid]

The press box is only 2 stories.  Eliminating the bottom level reduced the stadium cost by a million bucks or so. 

Most decent sized high school stadiums are around 40-50 rows.  It's the cost of having enough seats.  I think Dayton fans have it worse than Indian fans...

That has to suck. Really, it does. I remember looking at it last year and wondering how planes manage to avoid it.