State Championship Location Thread

Where should the games be played?

  • Ohio Stadium

    Votes: 56 37.6%

  • Canton

    Votes: 23 15.4%

  • Canton/Massillon

    Votes: 52 34.9%

  • Somewhere Else

    Votes: 8 5.4%

  • I Don't Care

    Votes: 10 6.7%
  • Total voters
    149
  • Poll closed .
Sykotyk

Sykotyk

Well-known member
Since it's bound to start eventually, might as well get it out of the way. While everyone has their favorite place, be it Ohio Stadium or Canton/Stark County, or somewhere else. I thought I'd post a photo from Montana.

In Montana, one of the few states to still let the higher seed host the final, this is the site of the six-man title game:

8903276157_e5e2235615_b.jpg


Farrand Field in Jordan, Montana. (more photos from that weekend HERE)

Home of the Jordan Mustangs of Garfield County High School. They're hosting Wibaux Longhorns this Saturday for the state final for the second year-in-a-row. And it's being held here. That photo was from a game I saw there in 2011. Nice little town.

But for those that want to complain one way or another about which shrine to football should host.... it's still a state championship. Be glad your team makes it, or wins it. Be glad you got a chance to witness it. Your memories of the game aren't going to matter whether somebody didn't clear the snow off your seat, a dog barked at you, or a cavernous stadium was 90% empty. It could be worse. Or better. But at the end of the game, it won't matter.
 
 
Do we have to have this drivel again? Where SHOULD they be played ? In a domed stadium. Where WILL they be played? Canton.
 
Sykotyk said:
Since it's bound to start eventually, might as well get it out of the way. While everyone has their favorite place, be it Ohio Stadium or Canton/Stark County, or somewhere else. I thought I'd post a photo from Montana.

In Montana, one of the few states to still let the higher seed host the final, this is the site of the six-man title game:

8903276157_e5e2235615_b.jpg


Farrand Field in Jordan, Montana. (more photos from that weekend HERE)

Home of the Jordan Mustangs of Garfield County High School. They're hosting Wibaux Longhorns this Saturday for the state final for the second year-in-a-row. And it's being held here. That photo was from a game I saw there in 2011. Nice little town.

But for those that want to complain one way or another about which shrine to football should host.... it's still a state championship. Be glad your team makes it, or wins it. Be glad you got a chance to witness it. Your memories of the game aren't going to matter whether somebody didn't clear the snow off your seat, a dog barked at you, or a cavernous stadium was 90% empty. It could be worse. Or better. But at the end of the game, it won't matter.
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That's fascinating. Never personally have watched 6-man football. Are these schools playing that like graduating 15 kids per class or something?
 
Insane92 said:
That's fascinating. Never personally have watched 6-man football. Are these schools playing that like graduating 15 kids per class or something?
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Garfield County High School has 33 students in 9-12 grade. Male and female.

(EDIT: Garfield County, Montana is 1/10th the size of Ohio, but only has 1,206 residents.)

I saw Wibaux a couple weeks ago at Savage. Shutout the Warriors, 36-0.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1188253364506640384

https://twitter.com/x/status/1188262999091376128

https://twitter.com/x/status/1188271057527984128

https://twitter.com/x/status/1188280684575522816

https://twitter.com/x/status/1188283947521691648

Savage had 8 players I believe while I think Wibaux (pronounced Wee-bow) had 12 or so. I saw a six-man game in Rising Star, Texas this year. Rising Star only had 6 healthy players for the game. Still beat Three Way easily.

Photos from the Wibaux at Savage game (and the rest that weekend): https://www.flickr.com/photos/sykotyk/albums/72157711548839498

Saw two games in Colorado on Thursday; a Friday night game in Moorcroft, Wyoming; a Saturday afternoon game in Bowman, North Dakota; and a Saturday night game in Savage, Montana.

www.flickr.com

2019 HSF Week 10 (Upper Plains)

Thursday (Colorado) Ralston Valley v. Lakewood (@ NAAC Stadium, Arvada) Pomona v. Columbine (@ NAAC Stadium, Arvada) Friday (Wyoming) Moorcroft v. Glenrock (@ Wolves Field) Saturday afternoon (North Dakota) Bowman County v. Kenmare/Bowbells/Burke Central (@ Bowman County Stadium)...
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com




Most people just stand or park around the field. This is common out west. Be it 6, 8, 9 or 11 man.


Still football though...

 
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If your school is in the final most people will go no matter what but a longer drive could keep some home. I think weather is more of a contributing factor though.

As a casual fan following your league, the travel absolutely has an affect but I believe that is such a small minority.


The only significant thing that will consistently increase attendance is if th game was in dome
 
thavoice said:
If your school is in the final most people will go no matter what but a longer drive could keep some home. I think weather is more of a contributing factor though.

As a casual fan following your league, the travel absolutely has an affect but I believe that is such a small minority.


The only significant thing that will consistently increase attendance is if th game was in dome
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As a Marion Flyers fan I got spoiled the 2 years they were in Columbus, We attend every game until the finals. We drove to Canton prior to the 2 years in Columbus, but have not taken the family to Canton since they were moved back there. We watch it on TV with friends and family. Last year, we had over 40 Marion fans together watching on TV. Live TV coverage saves us 7 1/2 hours of driving. When they stop broadcasting the game we will be forced to drive to Canton. We would be in Columbus every year, if they were just willing to host.
 
With the Crew getting a new stadium what's the possibility of hosting the state finals at MAPFRE? Centrally located, good amount of seating for the state finals, and other than some larger than necessary sidelines I think it'd be a great spot. Just need some turf and goal posts!
 
I like the games at Canton, and even liked the split with Massillon, but not because it is local for me. I preferred these games because of the venues themselves and the atmosphere of playing in a large stadium that is near capacity. Last year, the Massillon/Hoban game was one of the best environments I've ever been in for high school sports. The problem of hosting in Columbus is the venue is a poor choice for a high school game. I have no idea what the attendance was like down there, but 15,000 people in the Horsehoe is not that great of an environment.

I would personally like to see a series of stadiums get to host on a rotating basis throughout the state, but that will never happen.
 
northwest07 said:
I am biased being from the northwest part of the state, but I wish BGSU and/or Toledo could get in on the action (preferably BGSU).
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I'd love to see it moved around.

For years Mississippi hosted the game in Jackson at a 55k seat bowl stadium. Recently they started alternating between Mississippi State and Ole Miss. To the point that Southern Miss got into the rotation.

Would be awesome to see it go from Bowling Green/Toledo to Akron to a Youngstown to Ohio to Cincinnati to Dayton, etc. But that would remove the concept of bidding for it (nobody will bid to be one of many rotating sites). But for the association to go out and make it happen because it spreads the games around the state and really makes it a statewide thing. But that's why it'll never happen.
 
thavoice said:
If your school is in the final most people will go no matter what but a longer drive could keep some home. I think weather is more of a contributing factor though.
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In 2002, the Division I state final between Cincinnati Elder & Warren G. Harding drew 20,328 in a blizzard. That’s the 4th most all-time and the most ever for a state championship game at Fawcett.

Took us nearly 3 hours to get back to Warren from Canton, so I can only imagine what the drive home was like for Elder fans.

4F9CC10C-0D52-40CB-8BC8-E7CDEA19B3F9.jpeg
 
When I was in college (1984-1989) there was a playoff game at Nippert Stadium that sold the place out, and had thousands more watch from spots on cam[us where you could look down into the stadium. I believe it was a Moeller/Elder regional final game, but the memory get a little fuzzy these days. Had to have been officially over 30,000 and unofficially much more.
 
When did it become widespread coverage on TV?

I remember in the early 2000's I had to drive a few towns over to watch it at a bar because it wasn't offered in our area yet. It seems to be pretty much right around the time the 'record' crowds started to end.

TV and internet are the two biggest factors in the attendance lagging. As seen above (not the J/O complaining about ticket prices) but the location of the games it is proof having it in NEO isn't a killer in attendance. I like it better in Columbus as it is more centralized and....it is the Horseshoe, one of the most iconic venues in the country. We have been lucky to play multiple times in all three locations and the overwhelming sentiment is The Shoe is the preferred site.


Also we cannot discount the fact that the newness is gone for a lot of people. There was one year I was going to bypass going to the finals because of the weather and the 3 plus hour trip but, being a former multiple state champion myself at the school (not so humble brag) that I should be there to support those kids as you never know when it will be the last time so you need to cherish it.

I think each time a school has made repeated and "routine" trips to the title game some fans stay home and watch it on TV as it is not as 'big' as it was the first coupe of time.
 
Say it with me...

The OHSAA cannot force OSU to host.
The OHSAA cannot force OSU to host.
The OHSAA cannot force OSU to host.


That fact notwithstanding, I hate seeing high school games played in 100K-seat caverns. Takes away completely from the atmosphere when you can’t even fill a quarter of the stadium. I want to see as close to a sellout crowd as possible.

Obviously if Ohio had a domed stadium I would feel differently and would understand the need to play there. But the reality is, we don’t.
 
LICKING COUNTY FAN said:
If Ohio had a dome in Central, Ohio there would still be those who say, Canton is still a better venue.
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Assuming the dome had the capacity of OSU they would have a point from the perspective of the crowd-to-capacity ratio. Ohio Stadium felt empty when it hosted the games just like the Schott is too big for the basketball finals.

Obviously that would be outweighed by the fact that the weather wouldn’t be a deterrent for fans.
 
If there was a 20k seat dome in Ashtabula I'd want to see the game there. A dome trumps everything else when it comes to travel for games. I'm just surprised none of the MAC schools never built a dome. Akron was probably the best candidate when they were replacing the Rubber Bowl.
 
zebrastripes said:
That fact notwithstanding, I hate seeing high school games played in 100K-seat caverns. Takes away completely from the atmosphere when you can’t even fill a quarter...
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No, it really doesn’t. 6-7,000 people make the same amount of noise in a 100,000 seat stadium as they do in a 20,000 seat stadium. Maybe even more because of the echo effect. The atmosphere is dictated by how engaged the fans are in the game, and that is mostly dependent upon how good/close the game is.
 
serpico said:
No, it really doesn’t. 6-7,000 people make the same amount of noise in a 100,000 seat stadium as they do in a 20,000 seat stadium. Maybe even more because of the echo effect. The atmosphere is dictated by how engaged the fans are in the game, and that is mostly dependent upon how good/close the game is.
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That’s not how it works, but you are entitled to your opinion just like I am to mine.
 
zebrastripes said:
Say it with me...

The OHSAA cannot force OSU to host.
The OHSAA cannot force OSU to host.
The OHSAA cannot force OSU to host.


That fact notwithstanding, I hate seeing high school games played in 100K-seat caverns. Takes away completely from the atmosphere when you can’t even fill a quarter of the stadium. I want to see as close to a sellout crowd as possible.

Obviously if Ohio had a domed stadium I would feel differently and would understand the need to play there. But the reality is, we don’t.
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Your right. If OSU wont host, that is not Canton's fault. And on years when teams are making it to the championship for the first time in a while, or the teams are local to the Northeast area, there will be good crowds. The casual fans will stay home and watch on TV. If the games can't be in Columbus, I really like the idea of rotating the venues around the State. It would be in Canton every 4 years, Cincinnati area is a little warmer in December. Not that it will happen
 
zebrastripes said:
Say it with me...

The OHSAA cannot force OSU to host.
The OHSAA cannot force OSU to host.
The OHSAA cannot force OSU to host.


That fact notwithstanding, I hate seeing high school games played in 100K-seat caverns. Takes away completely from the atmosphere when you can’t even fill a quarter of the stadium. I want to see as close to a sellout crowd as possible.

Obviously if Ohio had a domed stadium I would feel differently and would understand the need to play there. But the reality is, we don’t.
Click to expand...
As a kid I went when it was in the shoe in the 80s but don't remember much. Wen it got moved back I was excited and I am not even a buckeye fan.

We have been lucky enough to play on all three venues multiple times. I don't think the shoe took away any atmosphere and I honestly feel it held in the crowd noise where most stadiums it just escapes. I know the players love to say they played in the shoe
 
thavoice said:
As a kid I went when it was in the shoe in the 80s but don't remember much. Wen it got moved back I was excited and I am not even a buckeye fan.

We have been lucky enough to play on all three venues multiple times. I don't think the shoe took away any atmosphere and I honestly feel it held in the crowd noise where most stadiums it just escapes. I know the players love to say they played in the shoe
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Some of the loudest high school football games I've been to were at the horseshoe.
 
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