Renovations complete at Sams Memorial Stadium

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Brownsville Independent School District celebrated the completion of a $3.1 million renovation project at Sams Memorial Stadium.

Sams Stadium underwent renovations throughout the summer and officially reopened on Thursday.

Educators at Brownsville ISD unveiled the newly renovated Coach Joe A. Rodriguez Field, named in honor of the late BISD athletic director.

"We had an opportunity to be able to remove the track surface here from Sams Stadium and actually widen out the field to make it a FIFA-style, regulation soccer field," said Gilbert Leal, Brownsville ISD Athletic Director.

The renovations at Sams Stadium include an expanded turf surface for soccer matches, other athletic events, and district events.

Photo courtesy of Jake Sellers (ValleyCentral)

"We're going to have some of the best soccer games in South Texas, and probably in the state of Texas, in a stadium that can accommodate 10,000 fans," Leal said.

Other upgrades include new concession stands, restrooms, locker rooms, additional parking, and separate entrances for home and visiting teams.

The upgraded stadium is slated to host several Vaqueros football games as soon as next year.

"They [Vaqueros] will be kicking off here next year. It's the very first game of the year, so we're excited to have that partnership," Leal said.

Sams Stadium is located on 1 Blvd. of Champions in Brownsville.