Plano ISD plans $3.5 million fuel station upgrade at John Clark Stadium

Plano ISD is putting $3.537 million into a new fuel station at John Clark Stadium, a move that puts transportation spending under the microscope just months after trustees approved roughly $5 million more for parking-lot repairs and safety work at the same site. The upgrade will serve school buses and district vehicles at a campus that also hosts Plano Senior High School and Plano West Senior High School football games, making it a taxpayer issue as much as a facilities one.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing lists the project at 6600 Stadium Dr. in Plano and says construction began June 1, 2026, with completion expected by May 28, 2027. The scope is built around four fuel dispensers, two underground storage tanks, two kiosks and a canopy across 84,509 square feet. On paper, it is a behind-the-scenes project, but it sits at the center of how Plano ISD moves buses, maintenance crews and other district vehicles every day.

That matters because John Clark Stadium is no small asset. The stadium seats 14,224 spectators, with 7,112 seats on each side, and Plano ISD Athletics says the field has artificial turf, a digital scoreboard and a sound system. District history materials say the stadium was completed in 1977 at a cost of $2.75 million. In nominal dollars, the new fuel-station project will cost more than the stadium did to build.

The timing also follows another large capital commitment. On May 20, 2025, the Plano ISD Board of Trustees approved repaving John Clark Stadium’s parking lot, a project described as roughly $5 million and intended to repair potholes and improve safety. Together, the parking-lot work and the fuel-station upgrade show the district is spending heavily on the aging infrastructure around one of its best-known athletic facilities.

Plano ISD’s June 2026 Board Briefs add another layer to the transportation picture. Chief of Business Operations Steve Ewing and Director of Transportation Services Mark Skinner updated trustees on hazardous routes, a student ID pilot and electric bus implementation. District transportation guidelines also say students living within two miles of a campus can qualify for bus service if they are in a designated hazardous area. That puts the fuel station in the middle of a broader debate over how Plano ISD funds the systems that keep students moving, school days running and stadium operations intact.