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The Eagle has landed: New stadium opens to plenty of fanfare, mostly positive reviews
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
Allen and Southlake Carroll have played football against each other with higher stakes and more fans in attendance numerous times in prior years, yet none have matched the hype of Friday's season opener.
That's what happens when opening a $59.6 million stadium.
There were scores of people directed to park on the grass, multiple news helicopters continually circling overhead and even ticket scalpers and hopeful ticket purchasers outside for a game that drew a sold out, standing-room-only crowd of 21,776. That crowd, which went on to see the Eagles defeat the defending Class 5A State Champion Dragons, 24-0, included faces from across the Metroplex.
While many fans spent their time prior to the 7:30 p.m. kickoff in the parking lot with tents, coolers and grills set up to tailgate, hundreds more were in line to enter the stadium upwards of two hours prior to game time.
"It's been a bit crazy, which was to be expected with the newness of the stadium," said Tim Carroll, Allen ISD director of public information. "But the crowd has been very agreeable, so of course we are happy about that."
Though that's not to say everything went perfectly.
Seeing as how the game sold out in advance, none of the ticket booths were open and no cash was on hand. This created a problem when some fans with general admission tickets did not want to stand after that section had filled up and requested a refund. They were directed to return to the AISD athletic building on Tuesday to receive said refund.
"When you have something of this magnitude, there are going to be a few hiccups," said Steve Williams, AISD athletic director. "But it was a great night and a great atmosphere, especially with the win."
The electric atmosphere was evident prior to the game even starting.
"I got chills during warm-ups looking at all the people here, I think a lot of us did," said Oliver Pierce, Allen senior quarterback. "When you look at the way our offense started, I might have gotten a bit too excited."
Fans were slower to get to their seats once inside the stadium, at least the ones with reserved tickets were, than at a typical game as patrons walked about the new facility, which had just been completed two weeks prior to Friday's game. In addition to increases in the amount and quality of seats, Eagle Stadium has upgraded parking lots, concessions, bathrooms and merchandise stands from its prior incarnation.
"This place is a whole lot better than the old stadium," said Jason Phillips, an Allen resident since 1977, after buying an Eagles shirt for his 6-year-old son. "I never thought I'd see the day when we had a stadium like this."
Even Carroll fans came away impressed.
"I have to admit ... it's awesome," said Kevin Sidebottom, who was sporting Dragons gear. "It's not even like a high school stadium; this feels like a college stadium."
Those feelings permeated up to the three-story press box, which was filled with a vaster array of media outlets than might be found on a typical Friday night. That contingent included Jim Dent, author of The New York Times' bestseller "The Junction Boys."
"This place is incredible," he said. "I called (Texas football head coach) Mack Brown and told him this new stadium has a weight room two times as big as you do at Texas and a band three times as big."
That band had plenty of opportunities to play celebratory tunes Friday as Allen won the game over the No. 1 team in the state, 24-0, with the last points coming courtesy of a 24-yard field goal from junior Carlos Arochi in the fourth quarter.
Among the mass of fans watching that kick were several of Arochi's family members.
"This place is amazing and I really think it is going to be a great investment," said Enrique Arochi, Carlos' brother and a member of Allen's 2009 team. "It gives me goosebumps just seeing this new stadium and all the people here."
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