Finally! Kentucky State Football Final will be played at Kroger Field! YES!
- Thread starter TuckyFB
- Start date
I like it.
Josh MooreVerified account@HLpreps
Whoa! The 2017 and 2018 state football finals will be played at Kroger Field in Lexington.
Oscar Combs@wildcatnews 4m4 minutes ago
Oscar Combs Retweeted Josh Moore
Big-time Kentucky high school football Play-Offs site news that will bring a smile to @UKCoachStoops & a boost for in-state recruiting.
Josh MooreVerified account@HLpreps
Whoa! The 2017 and 2018 state football finals will be played at Kroger Field in Lexington.
Oscar Combs@wildcatnews 4m4 minutes agoOscar Combs Retweeted Josh Moore
Big-time Kentucky high school football Play-Offs site news that will bring a smile to @UKCoachStoops & a boost for in-state recruiting.
Going to be interesting to see how this plays out. The finals draw 5-7000 fans per game, not sure playing at Commonwealth (sorry, not using Kroger Field) makes much sense. Crowds of that size are going to look miniscule in a two tiered SEC stadium seating 65,000 or so. If a local school is involved, might draw well, but I can't imagine the locals buying lots of tickets to see Beechwood play Mayfield for the umpteenth time in early December.
But . . . that is the KHSAA problem, not mine.
But . . . that is the KHSAA problem, not mine.
Pretty well said. I suppose it is fun for a HS team to play in a big stadium but the playoffs are always bracketed for a Trinity-St. X final. That's where the crowd and money is.
Peace
And even when they meet in the finals, which is not all that often of late (only once, in the last nine years, St X not quite the power it used to be), that game draws nowhere near what it does in the regular season at Papa Johns.
Weird decision IMO. Western was perfect venue for those games. Papa John's and The Bag both way too big for games that normally draw 5-10K.
Not like they can drop a curtain on the upper deck like they do at Rupp for the Sweet 16.
Not like they can drop a curtain on the upper deck like they do at Rupp for the Sweet 16.
Stoll a little before my time but ratty Old Cardinal Stadium (RIP) was a pretty good venue for those games.
Intimate and loud.
The crowds won't be a lot bigger, but with the games being shorter distances than WKU for the bigger population areas, I'd expect a moderate boost in attendance over games at WKU.
No curtain but I suspect they will just use the lower bowl and maybe just the sideline sections for those games. With just 5K to 7K in the stands though I'm not sure it makes much difference. That size crowd is not going to look cozy at Western either.
I think Centrality of location trumps how the perception of how the small crowd looks or feels. That and a bigger town to host.
Right there... more casual/unaffiliated fans will attend. I went to the Johnson Central v. Franklin-Simpson game this past season. You could tell who 99.9% of spectators supported on colors.
My sons and I plan to go whereas the only way we would have gone to bowling green was if our local team was in the finals. I'd say Lexington is a much more inviting trip for a significant portion of the population that would have an interest in Ky hs football.
Same here. I'm in Lexington and have never gone before. I have on connection to any school in the state final but will be going just to watch top teams in state go against each other now that it is in Lexington. I'm sure there will be others doing the same in this city, much larger base of just football fans for holding it here.
I hope it works out. HS Baseball championship has been well attended at Legends stadium, I have been twice to finals, both times to see Dunbar win, and had 4000 or 5000 in attendance. But, that is in May or maybe early June, with nice weather, and crowns the entire state champion, not six champ games over three days in December.
That was on those worried about tearing up the grass & a muddy field at CWS with several close together games.
It's still dumb, whoever is to blame. It's a football field. It's going to get abused.
Besides, it's not like we've really cared about our football program or the equipment and respect they're given until now. What's a muddy field to a gaggle of apathetic monkeys in suits?
Having attended many of the State football finals for a while, these are my thoughts. Lexington is more convenient for me and probably for the fans of the teams who most often travel to play (Northern and Eastern Kentucky). But this was a selfish move by the KHSAA (not unexpected though) simply b/c most of the membership are UK fans. There is currently NO sponsorship for the games at Kroger Field, so all expenses are going to have to be covered solely by ticket sales. WKU had a sponsorship. UK and the KHSAA are going to have to work on this.
Others comments: WKU is a superior venue for these games; smaller stadium, VERY accommodating personnel, decent concession pricing, and just an all-around better feel for the smaller high school crowds. Not sure if Louisville was interested (it used to have a conflict that weekend -- which is why the games originally had to move to WKU) but the City has more to offer than the other choices (not debatable) and its stadium has tons of easy parking right off the interstate. (Think alumni and parent get togethers). Plus it cannot be understated how nice those plastic seats are for cold, December games as opposed to metal bleachers. But Louisville will never get due consideration now that Kroger Field is an all-weather surface. Of the three, possible choices, I'd rank Lexington third. JMO
Others comments: WKU is a superior venue for these games; smaller stadium, VERY accommodating personnel, decent concession pricing, and just an all-around better feel for the smaller high school crowds. Not sure if Louisville was interested (it used to have a conflict that weekend -- which is why the games originally had to move to WKU) but the City has more to offer than the other choices (not debatable) and its stadium has tons of easy parking right off the interstate. (Think alumni and parent get togethers). Plus it cannot be understated how nice those plastic seats are for cold, December games as opposed to metal bleachers. But Louisville will never get due consideration now that Kroger Field is an all-weather surface. Of the three, possible choices, I'd rank Lexington third. JMO
I see no reason to send high school kids to Louisville to get contaminated.
Just guessing...but either you live in louisville or bowling green. You are a western grad or sympathizer.
You are right in saying that louisville is a better city. You may be right in saying westerns nice little stadium fits better for hs games. I think you're off base saying the decision was made because the decision makers are UK fans. For "selfish" reasons, I'm glad they moved it. I bet you their attendance will increase.
What difference does it make if the stadium has 7000, or 5000 in the seats? Giving the kids a chance to play what will be many of them their final football game ever in UK's stadium is a big deal. Most likely most kids will be UK fans who will get to live a dream of playing on the field. Creates memories that will last a lifetime. Georgia plays their finals in the Georgia Dome, it looks empty except for small pockets scattered around and the majority of the teams are from metro Atlanta, but no one cares, Everyone sets a goal the first day of practice to "get to the Dome", they could care less how many people are there watching. Kentucky kids will set their goal to get to Commonwealth first day of practice, how can that possibly be bad for UK?
[QUOTE="ram1955, post: 5914417, member: 12644 I bet you their attendance will increase.[/QUOTE]
I am inclined to agree with this, primarily b/c the N. Ky. schools usually make up a sizeable portion of the teams playing. WKU is 4 hours away; UK and Louisville are only about 1 1/2 hours. The few W. Ky. teams who make the finals have the biggest beef with this change (and obviously preferred Louisville again if they were ever moved from WKU). So I am also hopeful that moving the games closer to the teams who usually play might result in increased attendance over time.
FWIW, this topic has been frequently discussed among the HS football community for quite some time. I mean every year for many years. It was universally agreed that if UK ever got turf, the games would immediately be moved there. Which is exactly what happened. And the overriding reason has always been the UK bias among the KHSAA members (which just echoes the UK following around most of the State) -- they simply want the championships to go to their team. No one apologizes for it but it is what it is. The decision was not necessarily based upon objective criteria or WKU would still have them. Seriously, WKU was doing an outstanding job with the playoffs and community support (aside from a continuing issue with delay in start times). If UK and the KHSAA can get a sponsorship for Kroger Field AND the attendance significantly increases, then the objective criteria will support the move. But it's guesswork at this point. As with all decisions of this nature, some are happy and some are not. It works out better for me as a Ft. Thomas Highlands grad/player and we were actually growing fond of WKU despite the logistics, but the decision making process was preordained once UK got turf. Just stating the facts as I know them.
I am inclined to agree with this, primarily b/c the N. Ky. schools usually make up a sizeable portion of the teams playing. WKU is 4 hours away; UK and Louisville are only about 1 1/2 hours. The few W. Ky. teams who make the finals have the biggest beef with this change (and obviously preferred Louisville again if they were ever moved from WKU). So I am also hopeful that moving the games closer to the teams who usually play might result in increased attendance over time.
FWIW, this topic has been frequently discussed among the HS football community for quite some time. I mean every year for many years. It was universally agreed that if UK ever got turf, the games would immediately be moved there. Which is exactly what happened. And the overriding reason has always been the UK bias among the KHSAA members (which just echoes the UK following around most of the State) -- they simply want the championships to go to their team. No one apologizes for it but it is what it is. The decision was not necessarily based upon objective criteria or WKU would still have them. Seriously, WKU was doing an outstanding job with the playoffs and community support (aside from a continuing issue with delay in start times). If UK and the KHSAA can get a sponsorship for Kroger Field AND the attendance significantly increases, then the objective criteria will support the move. But it's guesswork at this point. As with all decisions of this nature, some are happy and some are not. It works out better for me as a Ft. Thomas Highlands grad/player and we were actually growing fond of WKU despite the logistics, but the decision making process was preordained once UK got turf. Just stating the facts as I know them.
This news has been out a few days and it seems to be a touchy subject for some, so I think it's best if I refer to it as Commonwealth until it gets received a little better by the UK fans before calling it that. When and if its accepted fully by you guys, I will call it Kroger Field, but until that time it's Commonwealth.
WKU almost killed them last year with their game. Cmon man. The games got rescheduled at the last minute and the time was too late
Thank you Grumpy. It will always be Commonwealth Stadium to me. I never recognized C.M. Newton Field either. Maybe I can compromise in my mind and call the field Kroger Field at Commonwealth Stadium.
You said what we are all thinking. UK bias on this decision. However, we would be silly not to at least mention that the C-USA championship game being a looming possibility every year at WKU had at least some impact. However, I think the Lexington/Lou bias came into play big time.
Now Lex has MBB/WBB/FB championships. Seems a little silly, and totally "unbiased."
