For one of Texas’ biggest high school football powerhouses, it’s been a long time since they’ve played a true home game. On Friday night, that all changes for Lake Travis High School in Austin, to the tune of nearly $50 million.
Cavalier Stadium, home of the six-time state champion Lake Travis Cavaliers, has been under renovation since September 2025, with a focus on stadium expansion and facility buildouts for a rapidly growing athletic department.
The Cavaliers will now play in a bowl-shaped stadium better suited to a mid-sized college compared to a high school, as Cavalier Stadium’s capacity increases from 7,400 to 11,090.
During construction, Lake Travis played most home games at nearby Dripping Springs Tiger Stadium, along with a September 2026 home game at San Marcos High School’s Toyota Rattler Stadium. Both stadiums had a higher capacity—8,100 and 8,000, respectively—than the pre-renovated Cavalier Stadium.
“I love Cavalier Stadium, and it’s been a great venue for us,” said Lake Travis head coach Hank Carter on the needed upgrade in 2025. “Our community has outgrown it. We’ve sold out the home side of the season for years. When I first got to Lake Travis in 2008, we had about 1,700 high school students. We’ve gone to as high as 3,800 since I’ve been here.”
According to Austin American-Statesman’s Shaun Chornobroff, the stadium renovation is 80 percent complete, with completion still months away. Lake Travis ISD representatives believe the stadium is far enough along to host games this season.
The district’s board of trustees approved a guaranteed maximum price of $48.3 million for the project, as new resources for the athletic department go far beyond the football team.
The project includes a new three-story women’s field house with team meeting rooms and coaches’ offices. Additionally, new locker rooms are being updated with direct access to the field for visiting teams. New press boxes will have a scoreboard operations center, along with filming areas and observation decks. For fans, the stadium’s buildout will include new concession stands, home and visitor restrooms and a spirit store.
It’s also clear that the district’s leadership sees a future of hosting big events beyond high school football at Cavalier Stadium.
“What an amazing opportunity for our students and our community to enjoy not only athletic events, but things like graduation [and] community festivals,” said Lake Travis principal James Bush in July. “Opportunities for us to open the door and let everybody come in and see this.”
For the Cavaliers, their first actual home game will come against an undefeated Cedar Ridge Raiders team riding a six-game winning streak and 6-0 record. Lake Travis is 2-1-1 on the season and sits No. 13 in MaxPreps’ 6A Texas rankings, but has only played four games this season due to the death of offensive lineman Odin Hensley in August.