Looking at Images of these huge venues in the title games , most of the stands look 80% empty ? I remember hosting an winning a State Title with Sussex in 1991 and feeling of having a pack house and the opportunity to win the game in your community was one of the greatest feelings ever. My question is should VHSL return this game back to the communities ? Please share your thoughts
State Title Game Should Be Held On Campus Of Higher Seed
- Thread starter trutiger16
- Start date
I think it's worth considering or atleast some of these small colleges. CNU would be a perfect location for 1A & 2A Championships
I could see that being a better option , but I still would like to see them at the high school campuses.
I like the idea. If not the campus of the higher seed, then at least a venue close by the higher seed. The sense of community is missing at these large venues. You win a title now and immediately the PA announcer starts telling you that entering the field is prohibited, you cant even celebrate with your team anymore.
And I know I'm in the minority here but who the heck enjoys sitting around for 2 hours out in the cold waiting for the second game to start? I know I dont. And concessions suck at Salem (as of 2014), but even if they were good it is still crappy to have to wait that long.
You see it with basketball as well, "get your trophy, now get the heck off the court so we can get ready for the next game".
The community can celebrate with their team at a later time...I like the idea of having a moment with the team and the coaches. The players and coaches have been the people directly involved in the process. I also like the idea of giving the losing team the opportunity to reflect without being bombarded by the winning side.
Bad idea on many fronts..... then you have inadequate fields/bleachers/restrooms/parking
Salem is the best option and central for 1A and 2A... just look at a map... it's not difficult to see.
same reason Richmond is the easy choice for 5a and 6a
CNU makes as much sense as UVA-Wise ---- #facepalm
Salem is the best option and central for 1A and 2A... just look at a map... it's not difficult to see.
same reason Richmond is the easy choice for 5a and 6a
CNU makes as much sense as UVA-Wise ---- #facepalm
Two-thirds of the 1A and 2A schools in Virginia are west of Charlottsville but lets have them drive to the peninsula. That makes as much sense as playing the 5A and 6A games in Bristol!
This is another of those "can't please all the people all the time" situations. I personally like Salem, and one of the main points in its favor is the adequate parking and the easy accessibility getting into the stadium. Great venue for handicapped folks or those who don't get around much anymore.
As for the concession stand, not sure if the above comment referenced price or service but I used it Saturday (on the home side) for the first time ever and was surprised at the reasonable prices plus they seemed to handle their crowd OK.
If you tried to move this game to CNU or anyplace "down there", next thing you know you would end up with two teams making it who each had to travel 3-4 hours or more and people would howl about that. I have attended state title games in my day at Salem, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, and Charlottesville, and my experience has been that the fans that are going to follow their team will follow them wherever they go and distance won't matter.
Finally I am not sure I agree with the 80% empty assessment. At Salem Saturday I would say the place was more than half full and probably closer to 2/3 for the first game but I can't speak for the second. You also have that group (some smokers would be my guess) who prefer to stand around the walkway that circles the stadium, so that adds a few fans to the mix.
As for the concession stand, not sure if the above comment referenced price or service but I used it Saturday (on the home side) for the first time ever and was surprised at the reasonable prices plus they seemed to handle their crowd OK.
If you tried to move this game to CNU or anyplace "down there", next thing you know you would end up with two teams making it who each had to travel 3-4 hours or more and people would howl about that. I have attended state title games in my day at Salem, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, and Charlottesville, and my experience has been that the fans that are going to follow their team will follow them wherever they go and distance won't matter.
Finally I am not sure I agree with the 80% empty assessment. At Salem Saturday I would say the place was more than half full and probably closer to 2/3 for the first game but I can't speak for the second. You also have that group (some smokers would be my guess) who prefer to stand around the walkway that circles the stadium, so that adds a few fans to the mix.
Have all 6 classes at the same venue, Liberty University since it's about as centrally located as you are going to find. Play 1 ,2,and 3 on Friday and 4,5,and 6 on Saturday or vice versa. I would love to make a weekend of it and catch all 6 championship games instead of having to watch some on demand if I want to watch.
I would not have a huge problem with that idea. I always liked Championship Saturday for basketball at VCU until they went and screwed that up.
I used to make a week of it at the Siegel Center and watch the semifinals and finals for boys and girls in all divisions and they royally messed that up.
There is no way any high school could hold the amount of people that attends these games there was half as many people there this past Saturday as alopposed to 2015 and it would have still germ a nightmare logistically.
GALAX has one of the best fields in the state, although holding a state championship game there would not be possible. If nothing else the cluster at the concessions would have half everybody ready to riot. Most schools struggle to keep up on a regular Friday much less at a championship game.
GALAX has one of the best fields in the state, although holding a state championship game there would not be possible. If nothing else the cluster at the concessions would have half everybody ready to riot. Most schools struggle to keep up on a regular Friday much less at a championship game.
As a sat in Williams Stadium on Championship Saturday, I thought the same thing. I don't think it was 150 people at the 4a game. If LT would've played it at home I bet there would've have been people standing on the fence on the home side. I miss the days of seeing a high school stadium packed for state finals.
I don't really care where the games are played as long as they are on turf and have neutral refs. Too many games in the past were decided by field conditions. There were some dominant teams that lost because they played on a field that was in terrible shape by week 14-15. I think about a GW Danville team that had to play in a quagmire and got beat by a team that in my opinion was inferior. There are lots of other examples over the years. Brookville in the early 90's, Martinsville in the mid 80's
I know that football is a game where you have to deal with the elements and all of that. But no one wants to see a state final in 5 inches of mud that has 8 combined turnovers and finishes with a 7-6 score.
I know that football is a game where you have to deal with the elements and all of that. But no one wants to see a state final in 5 inches of mud that has 8 combined turnovers and finishes with a 7-6 score.
Salem had excellent crowds with Galax and Stuarts Draft had the least but it was the right capacity stadium for the contest. The locations should rotate among smaller school or city stadium venues. Its okay to allow 6A and 5A a chance to play in Salem. They actually don't get the community support as big as 1A and 2A. Making the championship should be about the whole experience and thats why I recommended even having William & Mary host as they have great attractions nearby. University of Richmond or Shenandoah University (bring in visitor bleachers) should be able to be in the rotation as well. As bulldog said above we can't have games decided by poor field conditions. I played in one where it didn't rain but somehow the field was like hog slop! We should also change the rotation of the semi-finals. It should not always be A vs. B and C vs. D. Go back to letting the ratings decide that. If you have to have the semi-finals at neutral sites to make it work then so be it. Its the state playoffs and the region playoffs.
Great point I never considered that, I would add then if the field conditions are horrible then the home team loses the right to host
Powell Valley 94 or 95, they feared Sussex team speed so they saw dust and watered the field.
Appalachia did the same to PM in '92. Richlands-Salem is another example. It's a trait of some of the schools down that way, or used to be at least.
I did the same thing at Seigel Center for the week. Now I don't even bother to go for one day of it. I live 20 minutes from Liberty University and that was great when the semifinals and finals were there.
I don't know that it is easy to say SD had fewer fans. They were on the home side, and thus more spread out. Riverheads had a bigger crowd for sure though
Riverheads been there 5 straight years. Won 4 straight. Sorry Raiders cant say that.
Guys my comment wasn't questioning Riverheads crowd size or who "owns" Salem, just to say that can't necessarily say SD had fewer fans than Appomattox. Or that Galax had less than either SD or Appomattox. If you want to go by % of stands full, then yes SD probably had the least, but being on the much larger home side distorts that.
I was at both games, and I would say that Galax had a larger crowd than Appomattox. That doesn't mean that Galax has better fans, a better team, who "owns" Salem, etc.
I was at both games, and I would say that Galax had a larger crowd than Appomattox. That doesn't mean that Galax has better fans, a better team, who "owns" Salem, etc.
i know, i was just messing around since we Appo people have claimed Salem as our home away from home since 2015. We even hung a banner on the wall this year behind the 50 .
There were a pretty decent contingent of Riverheads fans that stayed for SD, that said I was surprised that both crowds for 2A were lighter than usual. Several reasons mentioned already likely contributed to that with weather being the most prominent. Anyone there surely had to have disdain for that wind. It was around in the first game but became an even bigger issue in the second one. My personal opinion is that Salem is the right size stadium for 1A/2A. Based off of other comments apparently 3A/4A attendance was down as well. That has been the trend for a few years now and frankly I am not sure there’s an easy answer to it. Either way it was a great atmosphere and anyone that did attend got good games for both contests IMO.
Anyone doing the yearly Night Before Christmas this Year for our board ?
I dont think most high school venues could handle the crowd. I know Appomattox really couldn't. Not for the visitors anyway. We could pack folks in but the viewing experience sure would be there.
What if a team like Buckingham hosted????? I've seen better seating in a elementary school gymnasium than they have.
Plus a lot of the folks who run the games would like to be able to watch their team in that game. I think schools would struggle to find workers for the game if held there.
What if a team like Buckingham hosted????? I've seen better seating in a elementary school gymnasium than they have.
Plus a lot of the folks who run the games would like to be able to watch their team in that game. I think schools would struggle to find workers for the game if held there.
Agree. I attended state title games back in the day in which a venue was chosen that was "close" to the home team but not their home field. I think I remember a game at VMI that may have featured Parry McCluer (a little shaky on that one) and games at Western Albemarle and Harrisonburg High Schools where Madison County was the host team. It all worked out and all teams had decent representation. Bo Bob makes an excellent point......a neutral location with "pros" handling all the arrangements allows for anyone to attend who wants to. Of course I am OK with the current arrangement as well.