HUTTO, Texas — The football stadium towers over the field like the silos of the past, an indication that Friday nights in Hutto have been upgraded.
An $18 million renovation to Hutto Memorial Stadium serves as the next step in Hutto's evolution from small town to booming suburb. The stadium includes new concession stands, restrooms and other amenities, along with a new, two-level press box. It also increased seating capacity to approximately 10,000, up from 4,700 seats.
“To have what we have now really is a sign that we are next level," said 1997 Hutto graduate Brandon Cardwell. "I played on what was essentially a cow pasture."
Cardwell graduated with 47 kids in his class. This year's senior class will have around 550 graduates..
"It used to be just farm fields," Cardwell said. "It's now full of businesses."
Undeveloped land in Hutto is almost non-existent.
“My first couple of years here we would practice over Labor Day and you hear guns going off, because people were dove hunting just behind the stadium," said Peter Schmidt, a teacher and coach who's been at Hutto for 22 years.
There were around 1,000 people living in Hutto in 1997. The 2020 census shows a population of 27,577, but the latest estimates show that number is now closer to 30,000.
“You just have more students to deal with," Schmidt said. "You still get to know your kiddos and you still get to know what makes them tick.”
Even with all the changes the core values of the town remain, because of the people who keep the small-town hospitality alive.
“The community in a whole has not changed. We're still that small-town atmosphere. We're very welcoming," Cardwell said. "A lot of the same community members are here."
And Hutto Hippo pride is still everywhere you look.
“We put Hutto Hippos on everything that we can," Cardwell said. "We have the 'Rockin H', everywhere we can stick it.”
Especially on and around the football stadium, the hippo is a symbol of growth and transformation in the program and the entire community.
“It'll mark the town itself," Schmidt said. "A point that people can always focus on, see, and be proud of.”
“It's a pillar of the community," Cardwell said. "We’re a 6A program now versus the 2A that was playing on the cow pasture.”