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Move the finals to Columbus!!!

  • Know it all
    Time for a big, big change and many of you that don't like this topic or the possible move to Columbus might be in for a surprise.

    Take a poll, fella's. If you asked 100 high school football players if they would rather have a playoff game in the Massilon/Canton area or at the "shoe" do you honestly think Massilon/Canton would win? If you say yes you are in some serious denial. Will the playoffs be moved? Many and I do say many of us hope so. The only thing I liked about the area was Beldon Village. Parking was a joke in Massilon and driving 4 hours from Portsmouth, Ohio made the experience one myself, family and 2 other car loads of friends will NEVER do again. That area for high school playoff games has ran it's course. It's old news. Time for a change.
  • coyotes22
    Know it all wrote: Many from around the state are getting a little tired of the Massilon/Canton area.
    First off, its MASSILLON!!! Cheese and Rice!!
    Know it all wrote:It's time for a change.
    Second, the only thing that should change, is, as has been said now,,, They need to stop showing championship games live.
  • skank
    Know it all wrote: Time for a big, big change and many of you that don't like this topic or the possible move to Columbus might be in for a surprise.

    Take a poll, fella's. If you asked 100 high school football players if they would rather have a playoff game in the Massilon/Canton area or at the "shoe" do you honestly think Massilon/Canton would win? If you say yes you are in some serious denial. Will the playoffs be moved? Many and I do say many of us hope so. The only thing I liked about the area was Beldon Village. Parking was a joke in Massilon and driving 4 hours from Portsmouth, Ohio made the experience one myself, family and 2 other car loads of friends will NEVER do again. That area for high school playoff games has ran it's course. It's old news. Time for a change.
    And....many of you who whine about where the finals have been held for the past 20 or so years may be in for a big disappointment.

    This...."poll" you speak of may also surprise you.

    MANY also hope it will not be moved....Your point?

    You liked Belden Village? What, are you a 16 year old girl? It's a footballpalooza weekend and you spent time shopping?

    "Parking in Massillon was a joke"? You're kidding right? Sure, it's good enough for a packed house during the Massillon/Mckinley game, but you had problems? I know for a fact, that the visitors side parking lot has probably twice as many parking spots as MOST high schools have total, so that is a very weak argument.

    You will NEVER do it again? Some kind of fan you are, most fans would drive to the moon to see their HS team play a regular season game, let alone a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. I know Massillon fans would, as would Steubenville people.

    And as far as your "old news" comment, yeah, I guess football isn't big in these parts.
  • Know it all
    ^Why would they even consider not showing games live? Daaa Did you ever consider many want to watch the games, but have NO WAY or DESIRE to drive 10,000 miles to see them in person? Hence...live TV. Attendance drops and it's because of television. Poor excuse. Some of you just don't get it. People are VERY tired of the travel time to that area. Plain and simple. Face it. Many fans aren't coming back to and have no desire to.
  • coyotes22
    Know it all wrote: Time for a big, big change and many of you that don't like this topic or the possible move to Columbus might be in for a surprise.

    Take a poll, fella's. If you asked 100 high school football players if they would rather have a playoff game in the Massilon/Canton area or at the "shoe" do you honestly think Massilon/Canton would win? If you say yes you are in some serious denial. Will the playoffs be moved? Many and I do say many of us hope so. The only thing I liked about the area was Beldon Village. Parking was a joke in Massilon and driving 4 hours from Portsmouth, Ohio made the experience one myself, family and 2 other car loads of friends will NEVER do again. That area for high school playoff games has ran it's course. It's old news. Time for a change.
    You serious?

    Massillon has more parking/better than "The Drip", which is an "NFL" type stadium!!! When we play at McK in week ten, I have to make sure Im there Three freakin hours early just to park by the stadium FOR FREE!!!!

    They will never leave Stark county!!

    And for the last EFFING time, ITS MASSI[size=xx-large]LL[/size]ON!!!
  • Know it all
    Hey shank...Massilon and Stubby are very beautiful areas, but our choice is Columbus. Why? No brainer.

    Beldon Village was the only area for the wives to shop, for all of us to eat at nice restaurants, but more importantly it was an area where we felt the safest.
  • Know it all
    Don't be surprised if they do move 22.

    So, how many of you northern Ohio people would come to the "shoe" if they were moved?
  • GoChiefs
    Live TV is a poor excuse? Are you kidding? That's a fact. Anyone with common sense knows that's a HUGE reason for attendance dropping. And what did people do BEFORE they started showing it live? They WENT TO THE GAMES. They haven't showed the games live on TV very long there guy.

    As for 'How many would come to Columbus'...guess what...I live a mile and a half from PBTS. AND I STILL DON'T GO TO THE GAMES. So of course I won't go to Columbus for them (unless my team was playing). Why don't I go? BECAUSE I CAN WATCH IT ON TV!

    You talk about 'feeling safe'...yet...you want it moved to Columbus? Get real guy.
  • Know it all
    ^Just our oppinions. Take'em or leave'em. We don't really care. Thanks for the pm. I'll file it away.
  • GoChiefs
    Thanks for filing it away. And please don't forget it. There isn't a second pm. :p And you're right..they are opinions..just like mine..frankly..you're right again..we don't care. 'Cause the games are played where we like 'em! ;)
  • Paladin
    Agree. TV and the bad economy will keep alot of folks away. It also depends on WHO is playing too. Some communities travel well. Others don't. Some parochials don't bring that big a crowd. Lots of factors.
  • rock_knutne
  • Little Danny
    I don't even argue this point any more. People in Stark Co. like to remind everyone in Ohio that it is their birth right for the games to playd there, and the OSHAA will never move the games.

    However, if you think the games won't be well attended in Columbus you are mistaken. First of all, as every has pointed out, Columbus is centrally located and much closer for people in places like Cincinnati, Dayton, Springfield, Zanesville, Newark, etc. to go to. Second, much of Columbus is made up of people from other towns in Ohio. There are a boatload of transplants from Cleveland, Youngstown, Toledo, the Ohio Valley, etc. here. If their hometown team or a team that typically plays their hometown team, makes state, you can believe they will be at the game. Third, for those who talk about the economy being an issue-- what part of the state has the best economy? What part of the state has the discretionary income to go the game? Hmm.... Central Ohio of course.
  • Darkon
    Little Danny wrote: I don't even argue this point any more. People in Stark Co. like to remind everyone in Ohio that it is their birth right for the games to playd there, and the OSHAA will never move the games.

    However, if you think the games won't be well attended in Columbus you are mistaken. First of all, as every has pointed out, Columbus is centrally located and much closer for people in places like Cincinnati, Dayton, Springfield, Zanesville, Newark, etc. to go to. Second, much of Columbus is made up of people from other towns in Ohio. There are a boatload of transplants from Cleveland, Youngstown, Toledo, the Ohio Valley, etc. here. If their hometown team or a team that typically plays their hometown team, makes state, you can believe they will be at the game. Third, for those who talk about the economy being an issue-- what part of the state has the best economy? What part of the state has the discretionary income to go the game? Hmm.... Central Ohio of course.
    Good post!
  • Old Wildcat
    I was part of Mogadore's Staff when we played at the Shoe in 1987 and 1988. I was thrilling to walk on the field, be on the sidelines,and go into the locker room. BUT it was a horrible atmosphere to play in for our kids which they talked about alot in following weeks. It is so cavornous that the fans cheering were lost in the shear size of the facility, and since then they have increased the seating by 12,000 more to over 100K. Granted we were division 5 ( the smallest at that time ) but after we played, The Division 1 game was playing as we were leaving the locker rooms and it still was a erie quiet for a State Championship Game. I realize people esp. in S.W Ohio hate the drive to N.E. Ohio. But Columbus is not the answer in my opinion. Just think if we lived in Texas. I have a friend you lives there and he went to watch his neighbor play in there large school State Game and It was a 9 hour drive for him ( 1 way ) Mogadore has been fortunate to play in Championships at the Akron Rubber Bowl, Ohio State, and Massillon and many other playoff games at Fawcett. Ohio State was by far the Largest dissapointment as far as atmosphere. [/font]
  • SUPER787
    Two main reasons why the playoff site will probably not be moved:
    Notheast teams are prevalent in the playoffs, the cradle of football is Canton- Massillon areas with the Hall of Fame sitting in close proximity.

    MAKING A HABIT OF THIS: Ten schools made at least their 20th appearance in the OHSAA football tournaments in 2009.
    Div. I: Cleveland St. Ignatius (22nd) and Cincinniati Archbishop Moeller (28th).
    Div. III: Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (23rd), Columbus St. Francis DeSales (20th), Columbus Bishop Watterson (20th) and Steubenville (22nd).
    Div. IV: Orrville (20th) and Ironton (27th).
    Div. V: Wheelersburg (22nd).
    Div. VI: Mogadore (23rd).
    MOST TOURNAMENT WINS: There are 18 schools that have at least 30 OHSAA tournament victories. Fifteen of those schools qualified for the 2009 playoffs, led by Cleveland St. Ignatius with 55 postseason wins. See pages 7-10 of this release for the complete list.
    Newark Catholic, which did not qualify for the playoffs this season, leads the state with 62 playoff wins. The other two schools with 30 or more playoff wins which were not in the 2009 postseason are Versailles (45) and Cleveland Benedictine (34). See page 10 of this release for a list of the top ten schools with the most OHSAA football tournament wins.
    State Football Qualifiers By Record
    State Football Attendance
    Total attendance for the OHSAA football tournaments has been nearly 6.1 million in the last nine years. Listed below is the total attendance for all rounds of the tournaments, attendance for the six state championship games and per game averages for those past eight seasons, which is when the OHSAA football tournaments have had 192 qualifiers and five rounds:

    Year Total Tournament Attendance
    (186 games) Per Game Average State Finals Attendance (6 games) Per Game Average
    1999 752, 247 4,044 60,111 10,002
    2000 679,707 3,654 57,678 9.613
    2001 811,409 4,362 65,663 10,944
    2002 669,432 3,599 65,584 10,931
    2003 686,411 3,690 60,586 10,098
    2004 624,825 3,359 52,799 8,800
    2005 691,741 3,529 59,410 9,902
    2006 568,230 3,055 48,932 8,155
    2007 585,423 3,147 50,972 8,495
    2008 516,466 2,777 48,420 8,070
    Cheers
  • GoChiefs
    Little Danny wrote: I don't even argue this point any more. People in Stark Co. like to remind everyone in Ohio that it is their birth right for the games to playd there, and the OSHAA will never move the games.
    mmmm k?
    Little Danny wrote: However, if you think the games won't be well attended in Columbus you are mistaken.
    I don't think they will be very well attended in Columbus either. The fact that they want to spread it out over 3 days will hurt attendance as well, IMO. A lot of folks make a little mini vacation out of it and get a hotel in the Canton area, stay overnight, and watch all 6 games over a 2 day period. I don't see people doing that for 3 days.

    Don't count on many Columbus people going to the games just to watch a game. They are only concerned with the Buckeyes. Besides a handful of teams, most Columbus teams do not have great attendance at their OWN games! Let alone some of those fans going to go watch someone else play that they have no affiliation with.

    Talking about economy...food & hotels will be more expensive in Columbus...plus...needing to be there over 3 days will make it even MORE expensive. Granted, less people will need hotels b/c of the location, but there will still be fans that use that resource. Traffic will be worse in Columbus as well. The people that want it in Columbus want it in Columbus for one reason, b/c they don't want to drive to Stark County. That's a dumb*** reason to move them. If there was a VALID reason besides that, I could understand the argument. But the only argument everyone from Pro-Columbus uses is the whole "Oh, well it will be a shorter drive for me!"

    Heck...I'll even throw up a point made on another site...did you see the Herbies last year? You had the number one team in the country and Ohio's pride on the line as they said..and that place was EMPTY! You think that would have happened in Stark? Not a snowballs chance in hell. It would have been packed! There just isn't many casual fans in Columbus to rival Stark County.

    Fact is...no way can Columbus bring the atmosphere of the High School Championships the way Stark County gets it done. I'm not saying it won't move to Columbus...but if it does...it won't be there any longer than one contract. OHSAA is losing money...we all know they are all about the dollars. So they might throw up a hail mary and move it to Columbus just to see if it will get them more cash. For the first year or two...it will probably..but once the 'nostalgia' runs off..and the fans that went just to say they went are once again sitting at home watching it in TV. OHSAA will see numbers worse than what they are seeing now in Stark County.
  • SUPER787
    I Haven't looked this up yet, but didn't OHSAA just vote recently ( this past season) to keep the playoffs in the present location for what, 2-4 years?
    Cheers
  • ts1227
    SUPER787 wrote: I Haven't looked this up yet, but didn't OHSAA just vote recently ( this past season) to keep the playoffs in the present location for what, 2-4 years?
    Cheers
    http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/440788147/ohsaa-extends-football-finals-contract-with-stark-county-through-2011/

    December 2008, they picked up a 2 year option (2010 and 2011) on the existing 3 year contract.
  • Know it all
    Some people just don't get it. Lot of "crystal ball" comments that are yet to be proven. lol
  • GoChiefs
    Know it all wrote: Some people just don't get it.
    Yeah..everyone gets it. You don't like to drive. So you want them in Columbus. WE KNOW ALREADY! ;)
  • Know it all
    ^Hey, I live in Portsmouth. I'd still have a 2 hour drive, but I will say it does beat a 4 hour drive.
  • GoChiefs
    Know it all wrote: ^Hey, I live in Portsmouth.
    Prayers from Massillon. :D
  • SUPER787
    ts1227 wrote:
    SUPER787 wrote: I Haven't looked this up yet, but didn't OHSAA just vote recently ( this past season) to keep the playoffs in the present location for what, 2-4 years?
    Cheers
    http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/440788147/ohsaa-extends-football-finals-contract-with-stark-county-through-2011/

    December 2008, they picked up a 2 year option (2010 and 2011) on the existing 3 year contract.


    Thank you.
  • fb167
    Another argument that has not been brought up for this issue would be that Stark County holding the games have brought in roughly 4.5 millon dollars to the Stark County economy each year. I believe I read it makes up the 2nd highest money maker for the County next to the NFL Hall of Fame week. If the games that Stark County have taken pride in running are taken away that will have a dramatic impact on the economy up here. Columbus will survive with or without the games financially between the other events the city hosts (including everything that goes with The Ohio State University). However, as a Stark County resident and coach my greater concern is the effect on our economy. As for all the other bickering on this issue (for both sides of the argument) I'm really not that concerned about.

    As for the survey of 100 players asked where they would want to play the finals; I would only ask a separate question to them. What is more important to you where the finals are being held or your team actually playing in the championship game? As a coach I would hope my players would be more concerned about making the game rather than where they have to play the game.