Where would you like to see the state finals be?

• Full_count

  newarkcatholicfan wrote: There are a lot of states playing their finals at large college stadiums and from what I am hearing they all are doing just fine.

  Very few states have a big college stadium that seats 100,000+ Indiana does not play at Notre Dame for example and Michigan does not play at the Big House. But many do hold their championships either in their state capital or centrally located in their state.
  
  Here are a few that I looked up:
  
  Michigan: Ford Field, Detroit
  Indiana: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
  Illinois: Memorial Stadium; Illionis University; Champaign
  Wisconsin: Camp Randall Stadium; Madison
  Pennsylvania: Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, PA. (Dec. 18/19)
  New York: Carrier Dome, Syracuse
  West Virginia: Wheeling Island Stadium, Wheeling,
  Kentucky: LT Smith Stadium, Bowling Green
  Tennessee: Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN. (halfway point between Nashville & Knoxville)
  Georgia: Georgia Dome, Atlanta
  Florida: Citrus Bowl, Orlando
  Alabama: Bryant Stadium, Tuscaloosa Alabama
  Texas: Alamodome, San Antonio
  Missouri: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis
  North Carolina: Wake Forest and University of North Carolina Stadiums
  South Carolina: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia.
  Virginia: D1 & 2 at Salem City Stadium
  D3 & 4 at Virginia Tech
  D5 & 6 at University of Virginia
  
  
  
  
  Did you know that Illinois sponsors Chess as a sport? Chess State Championships are in February... it is a winter sport.
• skank

  

  Monkey see monkey do?
• Full_count

  skank wrote: I guess if they were in C-bus, Hilliard would basically have a home game and then everyone else would be bitching.

  Hilliard Davidson is grass... not eligible for a site.
  
  
  The same is true of all sports regardless of where you play them. If you use that arguement then DeSales, Worthington Christian, Gahanna Lincoln, Dublin Coffman Girls and Bexley Girls all played "home" games for the State Soccer Championships this year. The Canton/Massillon Swimmers had a home swim meet for the state champioship last year and Pickerington North played a "home" baseball game in Huntington Park last year in the State Championship.
  
  It is not about the Central Ohio teams getting a home game, it is about being fair to the far reaches of the State. Cincinnati people driving to Canton/Akron for state championship games in those sports when Columbus is 150 miles closer. The same arguement can be used for Cleveland and Youngstown teams going to the State Volleyball Championships.
  
  Columbus now has the facilities to host every state championship with the possible exception of Softball (Buckeye Field is not that great in spite of the renovations.). Why not make it centrally located?
• 3256knights

  The state has four Regions as a competion format. Then three of them have to travel upto four hours one way to play in the Final. Why not have all teams travel a couple of hours to a central location that is the Horseshoe. Big stadium, but possibly a one in a life time opportunity for a high school kid to play in a stadium like that. Fans will be in the game because it will fill from the bottom up. Not to be one minded, Why doesn't OHSSA build a 30,000 seat facility in conjunction with Columbus to host the event? Columbus needs to find a way to make it happen.
• Full_count

  3256knights wrote: The state has four Regions as a competion format. Then three of them have to travel upto four hours one way to play in the Final. Why not have all teams travel a couple of hours to a central location that is the Horseshoe. Big stadium, but possibly a one in a life time opportunity for a high school kid to play in a stadium like that. Fans will be in the game because it will fill from the bottom up. Not to be one minded, Why doesn't OHSSA build a 30,000 seat facility in conjunction with Columbus to host the event? Columbus needs to find a way to make it happen.

  and people now complain about the prices to get into OHSAA events...let's add a stadium charge...lol.
  
  You don't need a 30,000 seat Stadium. Fawcett is 22,000 and Massillon is 16,000.
  
  The people of Columbus and Franklin County turned down 3 tax levies to build a stadium for the Crew and arena for the Blue Jackets. Both were able to be build by private money in the end. So I doubt that they will openly support a levy to build a stadium for the OHSAA when we have venues that will surfice.
  
  Crew Stadium seats 22,555 (according to their own website) which easily replaces Fawcett. Upper Arlington seats 12.000 and Dublin a like number. Both those stadiums have the potential to be bumped up in seating capacity by adding end zone seating. Add in to the equation turf fields at DeSales, Gahanna, Hamilton Township and Dublin Scioto for practice facilities and Columbus could make a nice bid. Columbus HAS the venues to be able to host this event and more hotel rooms than Canton. And if they want to push further, it would appear that Ohio Weslyan could also be used for games.
  
  
  Let's hope Columbus makes a good bid this time. Based on the interview with Dr. Ross mentioned above, it make be Columbus' best shot to get the games here.
  
  I still am opposed to hosting these games at Ohio Stadium. To big for such a small event.
• newarkcatholicfan

  

  Anywhere but Dublin if they are moved to the Columbus area.
• coyotes22

  

  
• mtrulz

  Let it come to Panther Stadium at Miami Trace High School!
• skank

  

  I would ALMOST like to see the games given to someone else, just so that when they failed I could laugh and say, I told you so.
• Altor

  No love for Northwest Ohio? What about the Glass Bowl in Toledo or Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green?
  
  23-26,000 capacity
  Field Turf
  longer drive for 3/4ths of the state
  20 miles apart
  
  I don't really care. I just thought somebody should throw out alternatives not in the NE, C, or SW districts.
• pbuck

  Ohio Stadium should replace Fawcett Stadium & Columbus Crew Stadium (if they replace the natural grass surface with field turf) should replace Massillon
  IMO Columbus is the best location it's right in the middle of the state
• bigorangebuck22

  krazie45 wrote: I've always had a problem with the sites of the state championship games. Here are my thoughts:
  
  1. Basketball should be played at St. John Arena. Wrestling can be kept at the Schott but St. John is a much better basketball venue.
  
  2. D-1 and D-2 football should be played in Columbus. People have differing opinions on Ohio Stadium. Obviously the games used to be played there and I can tell you first hand that from field level there are few better atmospheres (whether or not you are an OSU fan). The problem is that it isn't even close to full, even for D-1. An empty shoe just isn't the same. I personally think that Crew Stadium would be the best venue. Yes, I know it's a soccer stadium but football has been played there. It is also centrally located and the right size for that game.
  
  3. D-3 and D-4 should be played in Canton and Massilon. Obviously the hall of fame and Tiger Stadium are great venues that aren't too too far for anyone to drive. For these divisions, you get quality stadiums that would be packed full for these games. The reason I like having them at different venues is so the GAME CAN BE PLAYED AT NIGHT. No high school football player wants to play the state freaking championship at 11am. It goes against every principle of high school football. HS football, especially in Ohio, is meant to be played under the Friday or Saturday night lights.
  
  4. D-5 and D-6 should be played at Death Valley in Steubenville. Sure it's off to the side of Ohio and would be a long drive for some schools. But there's no sense in playing in 3/4 full stadiums. The nice thing about Death Valley is that it's a great stadium, would be full for these games, and therefore provide a great atmosphere for the kids playing and the fans.
  
  Just my two cents...

  I highly doubt the TV people would go for games spread out over three places. Also why on earth would a bunch of people from NW Ohio want to go to Stuebenville which is in the middle of BFE?
  
  If your gonna split'em that way, put D5 & 6 games in NW Ohio. This season marks the 7th time since '94 that the D6 final has 2 teams from the NW district.
• alaah

  I think all state championships in high school should be in the state capital.......
• Humpty Dumpty

  coyotes22 wrote:

  Since this is only the 875th thread about this and no one wants to agree that Stark County does one hell of a job....I say we move the Title Games to Hawaii. Long way to travel, but the weather will be great and EVERYONE can bitch about the distance they have to travel.
• Full_count

  Humpty Dumpty wrote:
  Since this is only the 875th thread about this and no one wants to agree that Stark County does one hell of a job....I say we move the Title Games to Hawaii. Long way to travel, but the weather will be great and EVERYONE can bitch about the distance they have to travel.

  Careful what you wish for Humpty.... the OHSAA and the Board members LOVE to go to Hawaii for meetings... you are just giving them another excuse....
• mlisi39

  Full_count wrote:

  newarkcatholicfan wrote: There are a lot of states playing their finals at large college stadiums and from what I am hearing they all are doing just fine.

  Very few states have a big college stadium that seats 100,000+ Indiana does not play at Notre Dame for example and Michigan does not play at the Big House. But many do hold their championships either in their state capital or centrally located in their state.
  
  Here are a few that I looked up:
  
  Michigan: Ford Field, Detroit
  Indiana: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
  Illinois: Memorial Stadium; Illionis University; Champaign
  Wisconsin: Camp Randall Stadium; Madison
  Pennsylvania: Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, PA. (Dec. 18/19)
  New York: Carrier Dome, Syracuse
  West Virginia: Wheeling Island Stadium, Wheeling,
  Kentucky: LT Smith Stadium, Bowling Green
  Tennessee: Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN. (halfway point between Nashville & Knoxville)
  Georgia: Georgia Dome, Atlanta
  Florida: Citrus Bowl, Orlando
  Alabama: Bryant Stadium, Tuscaloosa Alabama
  Texas: Alamodome, San Antonio
  Missouri: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis
  North Carolina: Wake Forest and University of North Carolina Stadiums
  South Carolina: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia.
  Virginia: D1 & 2 at Salem City Stadium
  D3 & 4 at Virginia Tech
  D5 & 6 at University of Virginia
  
  
  
  
  Did you know that Illinois sponsors Chess as a sport? Chess State Championships are in February... it is a winter sport.

  Do you know how many of those stadiums are actually centrally located geography expert?
  
  Hershey NO
  Detroit NO
  Syracuse NO
  Atlanta NO
  Orlando NO
  Tuscaloosa NO
  St. Louis NO
  
  That's about half...
  
  So your argument is week... get a map.
• Altor

  mlisi39 wrote:Do you know how many of those stadiums are actually centrally located geography expert?
  
  Hershey NO
  Detroit NO
  Syracuse YES
  Atlanta NO
  Orlando YES
  Tuscaloosa NO
  St. Louis NO
  
  That's about half...
  
  So your argument is week... get a map.

  Indeed.
• Con_Alma

  The Community that puts the best overall package together should get it. Would Columbus guarantee the volunteer man hours to put the games on?
  
  When combined with all other factors they haven't in their most recent bids.
• goldenwarrior

  Leave it where it is. Canton & Massillon do a great job. You list all of those places where other states play their games, but I bet most of those kids would trade in their location to play right next to the Football HOF. Fawcett and PB Tiger Stadium in Massillon are hallowed ground in terms of HS football. Anybody who doesn't understand that is recommending central Ohio, NW Ohio, or some other plastic location. Please stop beating the dead horse.
• NWIndianNation01

  

  Ok...a few comments...
  
  First...for those that want to spread the 6 games out across the state to different locations (as example...some at Canton, some at Columbus and some at Big Red)...two words...TERRIBLE IDEA... How will they pull that off will all of the fans like myself that want to go to all 6 games...that thought just doesn't make sense to me.
  
  Now that my rant is over...
  
  Personally....remember I said PERSONALLY....
  
  I live in Canal Fulton which is about 15-25 minutes from either stadium...and I think Massillon and Canton are the best fields for the games, however I know our group that goes to the games every single year would love to see them moved to another city...just for the fact of having a road trip for the games every year. We think it would be fun to go to another city, get some hotel rooms for the weekend and enjoy the time away from home....but then again...thats just us. I don't think that any other stadiums will be able to do it as well as Paul Brown and Fawcett...but that doesn't mean that they have to stay there.
  
  Just my 2 cents ....as others have said.
• NOL fan

  krazie45 wrote: 1. Basketball should be played at St. John Arena. Wrestling can be kept at the Schott but St. John is a much better basketball venue.
  

  one problem with it is what they have done with the floor there, making it a permanent volleyball court. Putting a basketball floor on it looks kind of weird
  
  
  

  Full_count wrote: West Virginia: Wheeling Island Stadium, Wheeling

  wow, that's terrible when it comes to location. For a lot of locations in WV, taking the quickest way to Wheeling would involve leaving the state of West Virgina for a while along the way
• sonofsam

  

  Would love them in my back yard... I have a pool so we could all take a dip in the December warm air...
• xnds1fan

  

  I've read most of this thread and I know NE Ohio has alot going for it. One thing that hasn't be brought up yet is the weather. Most years the weather is better in Cbus than up in the snow belt.
• Mooney44Cards

  

  xnds1fan wrote: I've read most of this thread and I know NE Ohio has alot going for it. One thing that hasn't be brought up yet is the weather. Most years the weather is better in Cbus than up in the snow belt.

  Umm I was at the 2002 DI Championship which was pretty much a blizzard and it was AWESOME. So I'm not too sure on that argument.
• xnds1fan

  

  I remember that, the players were slipping and sliding all over the place with strong winds.. In 2002 Cbus was cold but dry.