Dave Hannigan: $62m US school stadium puts south Dublin rugby in the shade

They cut the ribbon on Buford High School’s new football stadium down in Georgia last week. The moment photographs and video of the palatial venue went online there was a social media frenzy. Some were jealous of its magnificence, more appalled by its excess.

News reporters present at the unveiling used the word breathtaking. With seating for 10,000, 15 air-conditioned luxury boxes, a 325sq m video screen and a two-storey fieldhouse, this thoroughly modern colosseum cost $62 million (€53.3 million) to build. They budgeted for $30 million but you know how that goes. The place will host six regular season games this season involving students aged 16 to 18.

“Everything that we witness today is the best in the state of Georgia,” said Buford Church of God Pastor Joey Grizzle as he conducted a prayer service at the opening ceremony in the latest gridiron cathedral. “There is no comparison to the greatness of the Buford City School system. We are the envy of this nation.”

The preacher had a point. Buford boasts a nationally ranked academic reputation and, in the school board’s defence, construction costs were paid for by the local government through homeowner property taxes. Outsiders can ponder exactly why local councillors in a suburb of Atlanta that has a population of just over 18,000 see fit to spend that kind of cash on a fancy field for teenagers to play ball. Or they might even wonder why the facility was named for Phillip Beard, chairman of the city commission. Arguably the most stunning aspect of the entire business is that this impressive arena doesn’t crack the top five most expensive high school stadia in the country.

As part of a project linked to the NFL Hall of Fame, the Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio leads that table. It was built for $139m in 2018 and is the home field of McKinley High School, an outfit that happens to be one of the worst academic performers in the state. What appears an utterly ridiculous spend is supposedly justified because five other schools also get to play matches there. Because that somehow makes this extravagance worth the money.

Tyleik Williams (left) and Brodric Martin of the Detroit Lions warm up prior to the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Ohio. Photograph: Nick Cammett/Getty Images

Funding for this footballing Taj Mahal which holds 23,000 came through private donations, naming rights, and $15m from the city of Canton and the state government. A stunning example of stadium-building psychosis, it stands tall in a town where 30 per cent of the population live in poverty.

In terms of the grip it exerts on certain demographics, high school football in parts of this country is Leinster schools’ rugby in south Dublin. On steroids. Often literally. Every autumn it consumes the lives of demented young fellas, over-invested parents and towns that should know better by now. Nearly four decades have passed since Buzz Bissinger moved to Odessa in West Texas to write his timeless classic about a season in the life of the Permian High School football team. Friday Night Lights so perfectly captured this tranche of Americana that it spawned a terrible movie, a long running television show and a sporting cliché: “Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.”

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“For a lot of kids, life peaks at 18 in Odessa, it just does,” said Bissinger. “You’re playing in front of 19,000 people, you’re the god of the town, you’re a rock star, but you don’t spend the rest of your life being that kind of star.”

Texas remains the epicentre of high school gridiron and inevitably boasts eight of the top 10 most expensive and ludicrous stadiums at that level. They have been at this madness a long time, building more than 100 new facilities between 2007 and 2012 alone. As far back as 2006, Cypress-Fairbanks Independent District in a northwestern suburb of Houston pumped $80m into an 11,000-seater that is home to 12 different schools. Today, that’s known as the Cy-Fair FCU Stadium after the credit union which pays $1.5m a year for naming rights. The last sentence kind of sums up how the culture surrounding second level sport here isn’t exactly the Dr Harty Cup.

Buford High School's new stadium in Georgia, USA. Photograph: Instagram

In 2012, Allen High, located in a wealthy suburb north of Dallas-Fort Worth, splurged $60m on Eagle Stadium, a bespoke 18,000-seater that has more than 5,000 parking spaces. The car, like football, is king. Catering for just one school, this edifice is just seven miles along I-75 from McKinney Stadium, an equally spiffy facility that cost $70m in 2018. Apparently built in response to the lavish outlay by their near neighbours, the McKinney project was a more divisive affair with some residents campaigning hard against it. Ultimately, they lost. In high school football, as with everything in Texas, size matters.

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These stadia all look remarkably alike, flaunting jaw-dropping locker rooms, weight rooms and other amenities more usually found in the college or pro ranks. All serve the obvious purpose of inspiring envy in rivals and those involved in building them care not a jot about outsiders questioning the morality of investing these sums in white elephants that lie fallow most days of the year. Their tax dollars, their stadia. None of y’all’s business.

Seeking its 14th state championship since 2001, Buford kicks off its season with the visit of Milton, another Georgian powerhouse, next Thursday. The game will be live on ESPN and city officials have stated weapons detection devices will be installed at the new facility in time for that fixture. Clear eyes and full hearts are probably mandatory.

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