OHSAA's Decision on Football State Championships

• thePITman

  

  It has not been officially announced, but it sounds as if the 6 years after the current contract expires, the two proposed sites, Stark County and Columbus, will go in 2-year intervals. The Stark County venues, from the sound of it, will get the first 2 years, then Columbus, and then back to Stark County for the last 2.
  
  http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2010/07/21/ohsaa-reaches-split-decision-on-football-playoffs.html?sid=101
  
  What are your thoughts? I think with so many "what if's" and people wanting both options so much, I think it's good to give them both a shot... and not just a 1-year shot, but 2. Then reconvene in 6 years and make a more educated decision based on recent data instead of 15-year old data.
• Strapping Young Lad

  

  It's been too long and I was too young to remember a hs gm at the shoe, but isn't it too big to create the type of atmosphere that you get at a game in Stark.
  
  First and formost you should consider the experience of the kids playing. I don't have a prob w/ Cbus but maybe a different venue...
• thePITman

  

  For Release – July 21, 2010
  Contact – Bob Goldring, Associate Commissioner ([email protected])
  
  OHSAA Awards Football Finals To Both StarkCounty and Columbus
  Board of Directors Approves Recommendation From Finals Subcommittee
  -------------------
  COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors today voted to award both Stark County and Columbus the opportunity to host the state football finals for two years each beginning with the 2012 season. The vote took place during a special Board conference call meeting and was in response to a recommendation from an 11-person state football finals subcommittee.
  
  Stark County, which has hosted all or portions of the finals for the past 20 years and has two years remaining on the current contract to host the finals, has been awarded the 2012 and 2013 championships, while Columbus will host the finals in 2014 and 2015. As part of the motion to approve the recommendation, the Board also gave itself the opportunity to discuss option years for hosting the finals in the future. Stark County will continue to utilize Canton Fawcett Stadium and Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium as the site for the six championship games in a two-day format rotating between the two facilities and Columbus will host all six finals at Ohio Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University also in a two-day format.
  
  The OHSAA originally received proposals to host the state finals from groups in Stark County, Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron/Akron and Kent State, Bowling Green and Toledo, and on April 26 the finals subcommittee heard in-person presentations from all but the latter two groups. After the potential host sites were trimmed to Stark County and Columbus, members of the subcommittee visited the facilities in Canton and Massillon in Stark County on June 2 and Columbus on June 8. Meetings were held with each group the week of June 28 to finalize their proposals. The subcommittee, which conducted a conference call meeting July 14 to first attempt to finalize a recommendation for the OHSAA Board, reconvened via a conference call today before agreeing upon a final recommendation. The subcommittee was comprised of three OHSAA Board of Directors members, five OHSAA administrative staff members and three officers from the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association.
  
  “We sincerely thank the six groups that were interested in hosting the state finals,” said OHSAA Commissioner Daniel B. Ross, Ph.D., a member of the subcommittee. “When we narrowed down our choices to the final two groups, the subcommittee felt that there was no question that both would do an outstanding job in hosting the championships and that both had a lot to offer. We feel like using both locations will give us the best of both worlds and that the real winners will be our participating schools and their fans.
  
  “In Stark County, the hospitality extended to the participants and their fans is second to none and the tradition and experience they have in hosting the finals are also key factors. The subcommittee is also confident that Central Ohio has tremendous qualities of its own and that the energy and enthusiasm shown by the Greater Columbus Sports Commission and the staff at Ohio State will help us create outstanding new traditions. So we feel providing each group the opportunity to host the games will result in a win-win situation for everyone.”
  
  “I want to thank the football finals subcommittee for its work and for conducting a thorough review of the proposals,” said Steve Stirn, president of the OHSAA Board of Directors, superintendent of the Logan-Hocking Local Schools and a member of the subcommittee. “I also want to sincerely thank the groups that submitted proposals for not only their interest but also for their tremendous efforts in putting together impressive presentations. Because the presentations from Stark County and Columbus were equally outstanding, it only makes sense that they both be given the chance to host, and the Board is in concert with the subcommittee’s recommendation.”
  
  The championships were first held in Stark County in part in 1990 and entirely in 1991. Prior to that, 37 state football championships were held in Ohio Stadium in Columbus between 1982 and 1989. Of the 190 total state football finals held in the 38-year history of the tournament, Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium has hosted the most title games (79), Canton’s Fawcett Stadium is second with 38 and Ohio Stadium is third with 37.
  
  “Stark County is excited to continue our 20-year relationship with the OHSAA state football championships,” said John Kiste, executive director of the Canton/Stark County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. “This tournament has meant a great deal to our community, and we are delighted to host the teams, the coaches, the fans, the bands, the cheerleaders and the OHSAA through 2013! The proposal process has helped us take community sponsorship to an unprecedented level and continue to work with an unparalleled corps of volunteers. We continue to look forward to a strong future in working with the OHSAA.”
  
  “The Greater Columbus Sports Commission, The Ohio State University and our local organizing committee thank the OHSAA and its Board of Directors for the vote of confidence in awarding the 2014 and 2015 state football finals to Columbus,” said Linda Logan, executive director of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission. “Our community has a long history of hosting OHSAA state championship events, and we look forward to working with the OHSAA, the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association and other partners to guarantee successful state football championships in Ohio Stadium in 2014 and 2015.”
  
  The games during the foreseeable future will be held the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend, which in most cases is the first weekend in December.
  
  The future state football finals schedule is as follows:
  
  2010 Dec. 3-4 Canton Fawcett Stadium and Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium*
  2011 Dec. 2-3 Canton Fawcett Stadium and Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium*
  2012 Nov. 30-Dec. 1 Canton Fawcett Stadium and Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium
  2013 Dec. 6-7 Canton Fawcett Stadium and Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium
  2014 Dec. 5-6 Ohio Stadium, Columbus
  2015 Dec. 4-5 Ohio Stadium, Columbus
  
  * Indicates hosting state finals as part of current contract
  
  OHSAA document link: http://ohsaa.org/news/sports/FB-Finals-Release.pdf
• krazie45

  

  Strapping Young Lad;429000 wrote:It's been too long and I was too young to remember a hs gm at the shoe, but isn't it too big to create the type of atmosphere that you get at a game in Stark.
  
  First and formost you should consider the experience of the kids playing. I don't have a prob w/ Cbus but maybe a different venue...

  
  Which is why the games should be at Crew Stadium. It's the perfect venue for the championships. The grass argument is BS btw since most high schools play on grass anyways.
• ~U~

  Knew one of the 3 C's had to ruin a good thing. Nothing good comes from one of the 3 Cs. Oh well, 10,000 fans in a 100,000 seat stadium = funny.
  
  Wonder what vacations were given to OHSAA to put finals in C-Bus?
• GoChiefs

  

  I think it's fair that they give them a chance. Give them 2 years, see what they can do with it. Nothing wrong with that.
• thePITman

  

  GoChiefs;429034 wrote:I think it's fair that they give them a chance. Give them 2 years, so what they can do with it. Nothing wrong with that.

  
  I agree. It's hard to say "Well, we had this many people and made this much money the last time we hosted in Columbus." Give them a new chance, get some updated data, and make a new, much more educated decision. Sadly that decision will still be made on money and money alone, but let's hope the fans vote with their dollar.
• GoChiefs

  

  Sadly PIT..I think they will make money the first couple of years, but then it might fall off if it were to stay in Columbus. Just b/c everyone that used the distance excuse will finally go. But once they go, and they are able to say they went, I think they will quit going, since it's broadcast on live TV. And attendance will drop again.
• Cat Food Flambe'

  

  Seems like a fair decision. But sheesh - even LeBron didn't drag things out this long...
  
  ~u~ - You're refering to Canfield, Carrolton, and Crestline, right?
• LoganAlumni99

  krazie45;429004 wrote:Which is why the games should be at Crew Stadium. It's the perfect venue for the championships. The grass argument is BS btw since most high schools play on grass anyways.

  
  I agree, Crew Stradium would probably be a louder and rowdier venue (and therefore funner for the kids) but I don't think it will happen. There is too much pride involved with Ohio Stadium.
• Tiernan

  They split the baby...but I guess its better than nothing to finally get the finals out of Ohio's anus at least for two years. Kinda ridiculous they gave the first two years to Canton after having it for 15 straight already. I guess they figured they needed to give all those hot dog vendors two additional years to find some alternative job training.
• GoChiefs

  

  LoganAlumni99;429106 wrote:I agree, Crew Stradium would probably be a louder and rowdier venue (and therefore funner for the kids) but I don't think it will happen. There is too much pride involved with Ohio Stadium.

  
  As of right now, it's said to be at Ohio Stadium. Nothing about Crew. Remember going there in '01 against Upper Arlington I believe. Was fun to watch the game there.
• GoChiefs

  

  Tiernan;429112 wrote:They split the baby...but I guess its better than nothing to finally get the finals out of Ohio's anus at least for two years. Kinda ridiculous they gave the first two years to Canton after having it for 15 straight already. I guess they figured they needed to give all those hot dog vendors two additional years to find some alternative job training.

  
  Great post. Keep up the good work.
• Little Danny

  

  I agree this is more than fair. If the games in C-bus are a disaster in attendance, then the Stark Co. loyalists have proven their point.
  
  I do think everyone would be better served if the games were at Crew (especially the least the DIV-DVI games). I am sure the entire populations of places like Maria Stein and Delphos could come to the game and the Crew would still offer plenty of leg room.
• 4cards

  

  ...good selling point for Tress having the Sate Finals in Cbus. He doesn't have to leave town & a great was to tell the kids your interested in
  
  Tress "see this place, imagine 110,000+ people cheering for you here on Saturdays in the Fall, come to THE Ohio State University"
• skank

  

  Doesn't matter to me, I'll most likely be there.
• skank

  

  Tiernan;429112 wrote:They split the baby...but I guess its better than nothing to finally get the finals out of Ohio's anus at least for two years. Kinda ridiculous they gave the first two years to Canton after having it for 15 straight already. I guess they figured they needed to give all those hot dog vendors two additional years to find some alternative job training.

  
  I thought posts like this were 'frowned upon' here on the HS forums? Guess not.
• Sonofanump

  I say build a complex in a cornfield at the corner of I-71 and SR30 just east of Mansfield. It is closer to the center of Ohio geographically and population wise. Plus it intersects major highways making travel easy for all of NE Ohio and the MAC schools that send at least two teams over every year. 45 minutes north of Columbus, 2 hours from Toledo, an hour less drive for Cincinnati.
• GoChiefs

  

  skank;429209 wrote:I thought posts like this were 'frowned upon' here on the HS forums? Guess not.

  
  Frowned upon? Yes. Breaking a rule? No.
• ts1227

  

  JJ and Yappi are still fighting about this.
  
  Since there was no "winner", both sides think the decision is awful. Stark people think it's BS that anyone gets a chance, Columbus people think it's BS that Stark gets to go first after having the past 20. The fights are quite amusing to read.
  
  Listening to grown men fight over how they benefit when it comes to a game between young adults is sad and amusing.
• Cat Food Flambe'

  

  ts1227;429228 wrote:JJ and Yappi are still fighting about this.
  
  Since there was no "winner", both sides think the decision is awful. Stark people think it's BS that anyone gets a chance, Columbus people think it's BS that Stark gets to go first after having the past 20. The fights are quite amusing to read.
  
  Listening to grown men fight over how they benefit when it comes to a game between young adults is sad and amusing.

  
  This.
• ManO'War

  

  I don't like Columbus for the simple reason that it seems, as with everything about Columbus, that it is more about Ohio State than it is the high school championships. They just want another avenue to show off to attract more recruits and dollars for The Ohio State University.
• Little Danny

  

  ManO'War;429285 wrote:I don't like Columbus for the simple reason that it seems, as with everything about Columbus, that it is more about Ohio State than it is the high school championships. They just want another avenue to show off to attract more recruits and dollars for The Ohio State University.

  
  Very much so. If they were sincere about it the games (or at least part of them) would be scheduled at Crew Stadium/UA/Dublin Coffman, etc. If they weren't changing the rules for early commits I wouldn't be surprised to see OSU getting verbals from underclassmen at the games.
• dokken

  If Steubenville were more centrally located, they should have it there.
• skank

  

  GoChiefs;429226 wrote:Frowned upon? Yes. Breaking a rule? No.

  
  Dude, I made a joke the other day about Capone sitting in the "handicapped" section, and it got deleted, he calls my town an anus, and it's allowed to stay? WOW.