ODEM, Texas — Construction is underway at Odem High School for a brand new football stadium. Owl Stadium had been around since 1967 before it was leveled a couple of months ago to make way for the new and improved Owl Stadium. The stadium was no longer living up to the standards of Odem athletics, and when Odem ISD Superintendent Yolanda Carr arrived on the scene three years ago, she knew something had to be done.
"I saw the dilapidated facilities and our kids deserve better and so do our fans," said Carr. "They pay a lot of school taxes and we need to use that to upgrade facilities."
Carr says the school district has been saving money for several years to pay for the stadium upgrade. The district came up with three million dollars which pays for a brand new artificial turfed field and new all-weather track. The old wooden bleachers are gone and being replaced with aluminum seating. There will also be a new press box, goal posts, lighting and a scoreboard upgrade.
This new stadium is a pride factor for the entire city of Odem and the players are estatic.
"It will be amazing to have this field for my senior year," said Owls running back Marcus Martinez. "This has been a lifetime dream for us and the fans of Odem and we are finally lucky enough to play on the new field."
The new stadium and artificial turfed field will also allow the team to practice on a true football field because they are currently forced to use the baseball field.
"We use the numbers and hash marks for landmarks and we never get to practice with those because we don't have a football field to practice on," said Odem athletic director and head football coach Armando Huerta. "We will now have better spacing and I tell you what is killing me the past few days we have players with wet shoes and wet socks and that's not good."
The new Owl Stadium is expected to be ready in time for Odem's home opener against West Oso August 27.
