HOUSTON – “This is really all I know.”
For Tara Upchurch, home truly is where the heart is.
“I lived here since the day I was born, until I went off to college. It’s special. It’s a part of me. My dad still lives here. We have so many memories here,” she said.
A fourth-generation Aldine resident, she is trying to avoid moving from the home he’s lived in for the past 46 years. The property itself has been in the family for generations, beginning in 1905.
“If they need it, I could see it, but they don’t ever fill up the stadium when they have football games,” Tara said.
Aldine ISD is looking to take over the land through eminent domain to build the new W.W. Thorne Football Stadium set to open in August 2024. The family said they were told by the project manager that the district wants their land for parking spaces.
“We’re still hoping there’s a fight there,” Tara said.
She and her brother are leading the charge, hoping to change the minds of school board members as they lay out the plans during a presentation Tuesday evening.
“I’m really proud of both of them,” Travis Upchurch said.
The Upchurch family said they knew this day would come, that their one acre of property would one day go to Aldine ISD. Tara said she just never thought they would take it while her dad was still here.
“I cried. I don’t know, I think my dad cried a little bit too. It’s shocking. He’s comfortable here. He loves his house. To lose it is hard. it’s a sentimental place for us,” Tara said.
Aldine ISD sent the following statement to KPRC 2
“(Wednesday’s) board meeting does not include a vote to expand the land next to WW Thorne.
“We recognize that these are very delicate conversations that balance community needs and individual needs. It is our practice to purchase properties for district use at a fair and reasonable price before any eminent domain proceeding is initiated. The property owners rejected Aldine ISD’s initial request to purchase the property located at 1810 Aldine Meadows in the spring of 2022.
“A year later, the Aldine ISD Board of Trustees voted to authorize an eminent domain action at its April 18, 2023 meeting. Yesterday, the district mailed an initial offer to the owner as part of the first step in the eminent domain process.
“Thorne Stadium has been a fixture in the Aldine community since 1979. As a proactive measure in ensuring that the structure of our stadium meets our standards, we utilized a third-party, Texas Sports & Civil Engineering, to perform an evaluation and provide us with findings and recommendations so we can continue to provide a safe environment for our athletes, students and community. What we found is that the stadium was in need of serious upgrades to meet basic safety standards. Aldine ISD
“Trustees approved the use of $25M in FY 2022 and $25M in FY 2023 to cover the cost of replacing Thorne Stadium. The new Thorne stadium is on track to be completed in August of 2024.”