State Championships
- Thread starter 28772
- Start date
There needs to be change but that is a terrible plan that many bring up. It is simple geography. Why would you go to the extreme borders of the state and not meet in the middle.
They need to get out of the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) and play the games in the Triad. Basically the middle of Guilford County is considered the east / west divide of the state. UNCC is not much farther from that point than Carter Finley.
It is pretty much a guarantee recently that small 1A will be an SMC school but they other western participants is more in the center of the state. Just do not like the idea of a school from the far east traveling by their opponent and driving another two hundred miles plus to play the game.
I have often pondered if there are better facilities for 1A and 1AA championship games, but when you consider all the things you need for a game like this, there is a reason the same game sites are used. You need:
- Centralized location
- Sufficient parking
- Adequate concessions on site
- Facilities for pro-shot TV broadcast
- Sufficient capacity distributed equally on both sides of the field
Last edited:
Every year people argue this,it's useless talk it is what it is,deal with it,it's not changing anytime soon
It is nice to see someone post that understands the complete logistical setup for the games. Another item is dressing rooms. If you have two total they need to spread the games out further from end of game to kickoff. This is the major issue at Wake Forest but they have the upstairs that can be used to some degree. Also, several high schools nearby are ok with allowing teams to come to their facilities first. With smaller facilities you also have the issue of fans coming in looking for seating while the first game is still being played.
A stadium with 10,000 seats is perfect until you see that only 2,000 are on the visitor side.
I agree Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill is NOT the middle of the state....
For athletic purposes the center point that I have seen specified is Greensboro where 421 and I-85 come together. Not much in Chatham County to base it off of.
I am well aware. Have been to games at both and have also toured the stadiums. I was not referencing either of these stadiums with my quote about how the seats are divided between home and visitor seating. More to places like Elon, Simeon Stadium, or any other like facility that is a potential host site.
If ECU and WCU were the absolute perfect facility for the high school title games I would not be for it. Both are too far from the center. I am against the Triangle so it is only sensible to think of those two as too extreme.
Last edited:
My opinion the 1a championship should be at high point city stadium think it's called Simon . I like wake forest stadium it's smaller then the other acc stadiums. So I say you could play both 2a championships and 3a championship at wake.You could play the 3aa and both 4a championship at smaller college. Those big stadiums
Kill the atmosphere
Kill the atmosphere
Just to use some basic numbers lets use WCU as a title game site for 1A/1AA and compare to the most central acceptable facility which is NC A&T.
2017
Mt Airy v Tarboro. A&T 69 and 147 = 216.
WCU 211 and 368 = 549.
Cherokee v N Duplin. A&T 228 and 167 = 395.
WCU 26 and 363 = 389.
Western Carolina 327 more miles distance.
2016
West Montgomery v WRH. 61 and 167 = 228.
232 and 387 = 619.
Murphy v Plymouth. 282 and 200 = 482.
69 and 420 = 472.
Western Carolina 381 more miles distance.
2015
Mitchell V WRH. 166 and 167 = 333
104 and 387 = 491.
Robbinsville v Plymouth. 265 and 200 = 465.
52 and 420 = 472.
Western Carolina 165 more miles distance.
2014
Starmount v WRH. 67 and 167 = 228
185 and 387 = 572.
Robbinsville v Plymouth. 265 and 200 = 465.
52 and 420 = 472.
Western Carolina 351 more miles distance.
2013
West Montgomery v James Kenan. 61 and 151 = 212
232 and 371 = 603
Murphy v Plymouth. 282 + 200 = 482.
69 + 420 = 489.
Western Carolina 398 more miles distance.
2017
Mt Airy v Tarboro. A&T 69 and 147 = 216.
WCU 211 and 368 = 549.
Cherokee v N Duplin. A&T 228 and 167 = 395.
WCU 26 and 363 = 389.
Western Carolina 327 more miles distance.
2016
West Montgomery v WRH. 61 and 167 = 228.
232 and 387 = 619.
Murphy v Plymouth. 282 and 200 = 482.
69 and 420 = 472.
Western Carolina 381 more miles distance.
2015
Mitchell V WRH. 166 and 167 = 333
104 and 387 = 491.
Robbinsville v Plymouth. 265 and 200 = 465.
52 and 420 = 472.
Western Carolina 165 more miles distance.
2014
Starmount v WRH. 67 and 167 = 228
185 and 387 = 572.
Robbinsville v Plymouth. 265 and 200 = 465.
52 and 420 = 472.
Western Carolina 351 more miles distance.
2013
West Montgomery v James Kenan. 61 and 151 = 212
232 and 371 = 603
Murphy v Plymouth. 282 + 200 = 482.
69 + 420 = 489.
Western Carolina 398 more miles distance.
Last edited:
If the triangle is too far from center, where is the stadium you prefer? Unless there is one on a spaceship floating in the air somewhere, the Triangle and Triad are your only real candidates.
I would be fine with looking at Simeon and Elon for 1A games.
Not only does Wake Forest seating fit the high schools better than NC State and UNC it also has better parking and Wake's staff is more appreciative of having the games than those two and Duke (when they had them the first go around). Issue when playing two or more games at Wake Forest is they have only two dressing rooms. If playing two games they can get by but need to push the start time of the second game back. Three in a day is tough there.
I would not want to try to play the two 4A games in a stadium with less than close to 20,000 seats. Not due to the crowd for one game but with the second crowd coming in. NC A&T fits the bill very well for seating.
Last edited:
I wrote that I am against the Triangle so WCU and ECU would be too extreme. They are too far from the center of the state.
Where did I ever write any thing against the games being in the Triad? Nowhere! I have always pushed for the games to be at Wake Forest, NC A&T, and possibly Simeon or Elon.
No, I do not consider Carter Finley the center of the state. It is right at seventy miles east of the mark I saw on a realignment map in the NCHSAA offices several years. If you are going to Carter Finley it is only eleven miles farther to go to UNCC which would be an excellent facilty regarding seating and parking.
Once again, a complete overhaul of the playoffs is needed and placing the games could be much more simple.
Last edited:
NC A&T parking is a problem and if concessions is no better than the 1A Track & Field State Championships they hold their every year it would be a mess and some mad fans
The parking is a complaint. At the track meet they do not open the same concessions they do at football games. I think I saw some non permanent concession stands set up the last game I went to there. I prefer a stadium without a track which is one of my biggest complaints about A&T.
There is no perfect answer on this. Location, parking, capacity, layout of stands, grass, track, concessions, dressing room. Would like to try a few other options.
That’s not my point, that was meant for someone several post up. But I’m sure can find a nice size cow pasture with plenty of parking and bring some vendors for concession. Bring your lawn chair and kick back. Coolers welcome
look at those mileages shrink for western teams- who make a long trip every year....
New Panther's Owner David Tepper has stated interest in holding the all NC State Championship Games at Bank of America Stadium......
They tried it. Did not work well when they did and could be worse now.
This year you could very well have two schools from Lexington playing in the Eastern Regional title game. Those schools which each drive 185 miles to play when they are located less than ten miles apart.
Schools from Charlotte and Greensboro metro areas drive to the very remote corner of the state to play at Western Carolina. Nice facility, bad geographical location.
I thought that they tried it once. I seem to remember Hunt and Hertford County playing at ECU one year.
That's the purpose. Each team needs to make the same approximate trip each year or play in the most central possible location in the state. No team should drive nearly 400 miles.
A lot of people post or say let's move the finals to Western or ECU. Most of them say it without researching it or really looking at it.
Playing the games at Western as compared to NC A&T, the four teams would have combined for an additional 327, 381, 165, 351, 398 miles each season. You want a school to drive 387 miles and pass by the school they are playing with 232 miles still to travel. Great idea!
For some, its the principle. Isn't there some recruiting value for the "Big 4" schools to host these games? Unfortunately, the things that have kept these schools out of the conversation for major conference affiliation is the same thing that hurts them here. They serve isolated populations and their lack of central connections, TV markets, etc. hurts them.
I would not have an issue if the regional title game were played at a true neutral site but it cannot be a preset place. What I have been told is that colleges want a guarantee of a game being played because of their maintenance post fall sports. If Murphy and North Stanly were playing in a regional final and it had been announced before the season that the game would be played at a neutral site I would support LR. Gardner Webb is probably a better facility but it is not as easy to get to.
The problem with a predetermined regional site is you do not know who is playing. One year there were four Charlotte schools in the 4A regionals with two Union schools in the 3A. That same season Crest and SP played in the small 3A which would have been fine at GW but is basically a home game either way for Crest and would cost them more. 1A was Alleghaney v Robbinsville and Starmount v Swain. Those games work well geographically at LR but may be better at Asheville HS for location and field condition at that time of the year. Personally, I like neutral sites for regional finals but the logistics, facilities, geography and planning do not work as well as would be needed.
The coaches are not allowed to attend the title games without special permission from the NCAA. It is a dead period. The players really get very little college experience other than playing in an "empty" stadium. Generic dressing rooms if they are available. One year NC State set up tents for the teams to use as they started tearing down the old field house the week before the title games. They could not wait ten days.
Note, I do not want the games at the Big 4 facilities other than Wake.
There a couple of plans that would result in a 25,000 seat soccer stadium near BofA Stadium and a 10,000 to 15,000 seat football practice facility that could be used by high schools. Many think the practice facility will be at the old Knights (AAA baseball) facility which is in South Carolina past Carowinds. I think using those would be better than a 74,000 seat stadium but the players would get to play in the stadium. The NFL gets priority and they would need to schedule the Panthers out of town that weekend.
Charlotte has a perfect facility at UNCC but that is basically the equivalent for a west finalist driving to Raleigh. The goal is to get them centralized and out of the large empty stadium. Charlotte could check one box.
UNC Charoltte would be a good stadium. It's a really nice stadium and not as big as say Carter Finley so a better for a highschool game. Of course it's like Wake Forest and wouldn't have been able to have a championship game this year because they are having graduation for students who finished they degree this past summer and this fall semesters , I know because my daughter finished this pass summer. And they definitely could do both because I found out when I went to a game because my daughter was in the band why most colleges have thier stadiums off campus is having it on campus like they do makes for parking issues.
Western teams drive that distance every year....
Seriously people, if you live in a remote location, you have to travel or teams travel to you. This isn't difficult. If traveling is such a problem, load up Grannie, Ellie Mae and Jethro and get off the mountain.
So let us assume that SMC team plays a team from the Atlantic 5. (The easternmost and the westernmost 1A conferences). If games are played in Raleigh, Durham, Winston Salem, which conference travels the most to get to that location EVERY year. If you don't want WCU or ECU, how about Charlotte once in a while?
And there is the problem!!!! People trying to have a serious discussion while other people use tired worn out stereotypes, that exacerbate the problem. Wow! you would think people would engage their brain before they let the brakes off their mouth. Drop the hillbilly stereotypes and join the rest of us....
Last edited: