Cracks found in Texas school district's $69.9 million stadium, causes opening day delays

An artist's rendering of the high school football stadium McKinney ISD is building. The stadium, which is projected to cost $69.9 million, reportedly has cracks in it. A forensic engineering firm is investigating what caused the cracks, according to the Dallas Morning News.



Scroll ahead to see what some of the most expensive high school stadiums in Texas cost. less An artist's rendering of the high school football stadium McKinney ISD is building. The stadium, which is projected to cost $69.9 million, reportedly has cracks in it. A forensic engineering firm is ... more Photo: McKinney ISD Photo: McKinney ISD Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Cracks found in Texas school district's $69.9 million stadium, causes opening day delays 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

A Texas school district's $69.9 million football stadium is being investigated by a forensic engineering firm after cracks were found inside of it in January.

The Dallas Morning News reports McKinney ISD has "greater-than-anticipated" cracking in the lower bowl wall. They were also found in the visitor and home concourses of the stadium. The school district has turned to Nelson Forensics to study the cause of the cracks.

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The 12,000-seat stadium was set to open by the beginning of football season this fall. Whether the cracks will delay the stadium's opening remains to be seen, according to the newspaper. A timeline for when Nelson Forensics will deliver its findings is also unknown.

The stadium is being built by Manhattan Construction and architectural firm Stantec.

McKinney ISD Chief Financial Officer Jason Bird told the district's school board on Tuesday that the stadium is expected to be used for more than 50 years. Bird said long-term durability and low maintenance are needed for the stadium to be successful, reports NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.

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The discovery of the cracks in the still-under construction McKinney ISD stadium echo problems that Allen ISD had in 2014. The 18,000-seat, $60 million Eagle Stadium in Allen had numerous cracks, some as wide as three-quarters of an inch thick, USA Today reports. Nelson Forensics was hired to investigate the source of the cracks at the time. The firm found the design-load demands of certain areas of the stadium exceeded capacity by 10 to 20 percent. Some areas exceeded capacity by 70 percent.

Nelson Forensics was also hired to investigate the cause of the cracks at Eagle Stadium. Texas Monthly notes the stadium's issues were addressed and got back on track to reopen.

Will Axford covers the news of Texas for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. Follow him on Twitter.