McKinney, Texas – With sunlight rolling back the clouds on a chilly morning in December, McKinney ISD Superintendent Dr. Rick McDaniel, members of the MISD Board of Trustees and McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller donned hard hats and hoisted shovels to officially break ground on the new MISD Stadium and Community Event Center while a crowd of city officials, student representatives and other distinguished guests looked on.

Moments earlier, with construction equipment rumbling in the background, McDaniel had stood on a small, temporary platform and addressed the group of student athletes, band members, cheerleaders and drill team members on either side of him to offer a reminder about who ultimately will benefit from the work transpiring in the distance behind him.

Click here to watch recent drone flyover footage of the stadium construction progress.

“Students, I asked you specifically to come up here this morning to stand on my left and my right,” McDaniel said, “because I want to recognize symbolically that this is for you. You are representing the…students that this stadium and event center will be serving for approximately the next 50 years.”

McKinney voters approved the stadium last May as part of a wide-reaching $220 million McKinney ISD bond package that will address a broad range of needs and impact every campus in the district in some way.

The stadium may be the most attention-grabbing item, but also included among the numerous projects called for in the bond are a new performing arts center for McKinney High School, security cameras for all campuses and refreshes for Eddins Elementary and Walker Elementary, which are scheduled to get underway this summer.

“It’s a blur right now,” said MISD Executive Director of Facilities Services and Construction Greg Suttle. “There’s a lot going on. At this point, we’re doing well. We’re working to get the stadium done as quickly as possible and to get the permits submitted for the MHS Performing Arts Center, so we can start that project and complete it for the start of school in Aug. 2018.”

The new stadium currently under construction is situated on a 55-acre plot of land at the corner of Hardin and McKinney Ranch Rd. just north of State Highway 121.

Regular drone flyovers offer bird’s eye views that reveal the outline of the stadium structure beginning to take shape. The space for the playing surface itself is now plainly demarcated, and massive earthen berms on either side of it grant the observer a glimpse of the future grandstands.

Architectural rendering of the new MISD stadium currently under construction (Courtesy of Stantec)

On the south end, 100 concrete piers are already in place for construction of the community event center, and pier drilling is underway in areas that will provide the foundation for the grandstands, concourse, restrooms and press box.

And, in approximately 2 – 3 weeks, crews are scheduled to begin construction of the stadium support columns working clockwise from the community event center, along the home side and around to the visitors’ side—work which will span several months Suttle said.
The water and sewer lines are each about 80 percent complete, and storm drainage utilities are about halfway complete.
Meanwhile, the MHS Performing Arts Center project is gathering momentum.

“The schematic design phase is complete,” said Suttle, “and we’re in the design development phase. Those documents should be completed in early February.”

The new performing arts center will seat 1000 and replace MHS’ aging auditorium, which currently seats only 450 and lacks adequate accommodations for a school of nearly 3000 students. The design of the new PAC features a balcony that will bring the audience closer to the stage and offers better acoustics and audio/video equipment that will further enhance the experience.

The 2016 Bond Program provides funds for security cameras at all MISD schools including addtional cameras at the high schools. Installation is set to begin this summer.

“We’ve hired a world-renowned acoustician and world-renowned theatre consultant,” Suttle said. “They’re helping us with the design, the shaping of the space to get the acoustics right and to get the theatre working properly.”

Included alongside the plans for the new performing arts center are plans to also replace tile and renovate locker rooms in the MISD Sam Serio Natatorium at MHS as well as plans for a renovation of the school’s competition and practice gyms.

Also on the horizon, are the projects slated to get underway this summer, which include installation of security cameras at every campus as well as additional cameras at the high schools, which will supplement those already in use.

Eddins and Walker Elementary Schools will receive school-wide refreshes this summer that will include new HVAC units, paint and new carpet while the transportation department will get additional bus and car parking and an aboveground fuel depot.

Things are moving forward quickly, and MISD is working diligently to deliver the 2016 bond projects voted for by the community of McKinney—projects that will benefit parents, teachers, the broader community, and most importantly—the kids.

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