Education

For countless Cypress-Fairbanks ISD families, Cy-Fair FCU Stadium is more than a name on a building—it is a place tied to lasting memories.

It is where students have taken the field under Friday night lights, marching bands have competed after months of rehearsals, soccer teams have chased district titles and graduating seniors have crossed the stage with their families watching from the stands.

Now, the name attached to those moments is staying put for another decade.

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union announced Aug. 27 that they have renewed the naming-rights agreement for Cy-Fair FCU Stadium through June 2036, extending a relationship that began with the stadium agreement in 2016 but traces its roots much further back into Cy-Fair history. The stadium welcomes more than 1 million visitors each year for athletics, fine arts, graduations and community events, according to CFISD.

“Cypress-Fairbanks ISD is proud to extend our historic partnership with Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union through the renewal of our stadium naming rights agreement,” CFISD Superintendent Dr. Douglas Killian said. “As our longest-standing business partner, Cy-Fair FCU continues to demonstrate unwavering dedication to our schools. We look forward to another decade of celebrating student achievement, athletic excellence, and community events at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium.”

A Name That Has Been Part of Cy-Fair Since 2016

The 11,000-seat outdoor stadium at the Berry Center, 8877 Barker Cypress Road in Cypress, was not originally built with Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union’s name attached to it. The stadium had remained unnamed until CFISD entered into an exclusive naming-rights agreement with the credit union in 2016. The larger multipurpose facility continued — and still continues — to be known as the Berry Center.

Under the original agreement, Cy-Fair FCU agreed to pay CFISD $150,000 per year for 10 years, or $1.5 million total, for exclusive stadium naming rights. The credit union also agreed to cover the cost of associated signage. The arrangement took effect in 2016 following approval by the CFISD Board of Trustees.

At the time, district leaders viewed the naming-rights agreement as a way to bring additional outside revenue into CFISD.

“I commend [the district] for the vision to do something like this,” then-trustee Don Ryan said during consideration of the agreement in 2016. “This is a great example of going out and generating revenue that we weren't generating before.”

Then-trustee Tom Jackson also pointed to the significance of attaching a business name to a major district facility.

“Any name that goes on the building has to be a quality name because we are going to be associated with it for a long time,” Jackson said. “The Cy-Fair Credit Union has been known for being a quality institution not just for a year, but for decades.”

That “long time” will now reach at least 20 years.

CFISD's Aug. 27 announcement did not disclose the financial terms of the renewed 2026-2036 naming-rights agreement. The district said the new agreement also expands Cy-Fair FCU’s visibility through additional opportunities involving district events, staff activities and financial education.

The Partnership Started Long Before the Stadium

The timing of the renewal carries another connection to local history: 2026 marks Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union’s 70th anniversary.

The institution was founded in 1956 by 10 employees of what was then the Cy-Fair Consolidated School District. Its beginnings were decidedly modest — operations started from a secretary’s desk drawer at Cy-Fair High School.

From those beginnings, the credit union grew alongside the community and maintained ties to the school district that helped create it.

For Cy-Fair FCU President and CEO Cameron Dickey, that history is part of what makes the stadium agreement different from a conventional sponsorship.

“Stadiums create memories that last a lifetime. First games, championships, graduations, and moments families never forget,” Dickey said. “We’re honored that the place where so many of those memories are made will continue to bear the name of an institution that was itself born from Cy-Fair ISD nearly 70 years ago. It's a reminder that when a community invests in its people, those investments come full circle.”

Dickey made a similar case when the original agreement was reached in 2016, emphasizing that the sponsorship dollars would return to the school district rather than functioning simply as an advertising purchase.

“The Berry Center is so much more than a sports stadium,” Dickey said at the time. “For the cost of a typical billboard campaign, the money we invest in this sponsorship can support up to three classroom salaries annually and student-enriching programs like art, sports, theater and debate.”

More Than Friday Night Football

Although Cy-Fair FCU Stadium may be most familiar to residents as a high school football venue, its calendar reaches well beyond football season.

CFISD identifies the stadium as a primary site for high school football games, soccer and marching contests, while district events over the years have also brought graduations, fine arts activities and community gatherings to the stadium and surrounding Berry Center complex.

That range of uses helps explain the district's estimate that more than 1 million people pass through the stadium each year.

For local families, those visitors can represent several generations of CFISD connections — parents who once sat in the student section returning years later to watch their own children perform, compete or graduate.

The renewed naming-rights agreement means that, barring another change after 2036, students entering elementary school today could still know the venue by the same name when they reach their own high school graduation.

What Happens Next

The renewed agreement runs through June 2036, giving CFISD and Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union another 10 years under the Cy-Fair FCU Stadium name. The agreement will also broaden the credit union's involvement with other district events, employee activities and financial education initiatives, according to CFISD.

For a community that has changed dramatically since 10 district employees created a credit union from inside Cy-Fair High School in 1956, the extension is also an unusual thread of continuity: a local financial institution born within the school district will continue lending its name to one of that district's most recognizable gathering places 80 years after its founding.

Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for more updates on CFISD schools, student activities, athletics, community partnerships and developments affecting families throughout the Cy-Fair area.

By Tiffany Krenek, My Neighborhood News 

Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.