Repairs to the $60 million Allen Eagle Stadium could range from sealing the cracks in the concrete to completely rebuilding major segments of the stadium. That information is part of new details released this week as Allen ISD officials maintain the stadium will be repaired with “no financial burden” to taxpayers.

    The preliminary report from Nelson Forensics suggests that improper concrete work and flawed structural design may be the possible causes of the cracking. No conclusion has been made as to whether the cracks are merely superficial or the effect of something more serious.

    “Anytime you see excessive cracks in concrete that is off the ground – like the concourse level would be – you have to investigate to see if the support is sufficient,” David Fowler, a structural engineering expert with the University of Texas at Austin, said to the Dallas Morning News. “You want to be safe and review it, but that doesn’t mean that the whole thing is going to collapse.”

    According to information from the report acquired through a public records request by The Dallas Morning News, the immediate closure was completely necessary, and there remains a serious possibility that poor concrete and steel work have combined to cause the costly situation. In its test, Nelson found three concrete cores and found layers of a dark paste typical of poorly cured concrete, which tends to diminish durability.

    “The cracking has decreased the service life of the structure and potentially decreased its structural capacity,” the report noted.

    The repairs to the stadium could range from sealing the cracks with epoxy injections, which would be a quick fix but would diminish the stadium’s appearance and require routine treatments and repairs for years to come, to replacing concrete slabs to completely rebuilding major segments of the stadium. Thanks to the insurance policies held by the entities involved in the stadium’s construction, the repairs to the stadium will come at no additional cost to taxpayers.

    “Once this is fixed and completed, Allen ISD and the taxpayers will still have a magnificent stadium they can be proud of,” Pogue Construction CEO Ben Pogue said. “There will be no financial burden for Allen ISD or taxpayers.”

    The exact condition and safety of the stadium and the entities to be held liable for damages to the stadium and the repairs necessary will not be known until Nelson Forensics finishes its evaluation and report of the stadium, which is expected to cost more than $100,000, in June. School officials say that it is possible that the stadium will not open until next school year and that events previously planned for the stadium, such as fall football games, are being re-scheduled.

Fred Montes and Irene Nigaglioni of PBK, the firm that designed the stadium, have already said in a statement to the Dallas Morning News that the firm would pay for repairs if the findings of the report point to a design flaw on the firm’s part. Officials from PBK report that the firm has ordered an independent forensics report on the stadium that will be completed next week.

    While Pogue Construction has declined to speculate as to the cause of the cracks, PBK remains adamant that the issues do not come from design flaws.

“We do not feel this is a design issue,” Montes and Nigaglioni wrote in their statement. “We believe that the current conditions are shrink cracks that can be repaired and are not a danger to the structural integrity of the stadium.”