For at least the next three years, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) state championship football games will have a new home.
The OHSAA and the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Wednesday afternoon the state championship games for Divisions I-VII will be played at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
The facility, which is located next to the pro football shrine, is also the home of the NFL’s Hall of Fame game each August.
Doug Ute, executive director of the OHSAA, announced the three-year contract will run from the 2021 through 2023 seasons.
The state championship games in 2020 were originally scheduled to be held at The Ohio State University.
Those games had to be moved at the 11th hour when Franklin County went purple due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A late push allowed the seven championship games to be played the first weekend of December, 2020, at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.
That is the stadium in which the Jonathan Alder football team played in the 2006 Division IV state championship game against Youngstown Cardinal Mooney. The Pioneers fell in that game, 26-12, on Friday, Dec. 1 of that year
JA finished the 2006 season with a 13-2 record, while Cardinal Mooney went 14-0.
Ute said several locations, including Columbus, were looked at for state championship games for the next three years.
Massillon was also reportedly on that list.
“We had conversations with Massillon,” said Ute.
Canton, Massillon and The Ohio State University have hosted the state grid championships at various points over the past 30 years.
With its ties to the game and Canton’s rich history, the OHSAA believes the Pro Football Hall of Fame is the ideal place to host the state gridiron championships, he said.
One of the factors for the contract with the Hall of Fame is what the OHSAA leader calls the “wow factor.”
Ute commented on the stadium facility, including locker rooms.
“The high school football players who will compete in the state championship games for the next three seasons will be able to say they used locker rooms that a few months earlier had been used by NFL players (during the Hall of Fame game),” he said. “This is a great facility and it will give our high school players the opportunity for a ‘big league’ type of experience.”
“The Hall of Fame prides itself in treating OHSAA football teams and their fans the same way we treat the NFL teams and their fans,” said Hall of Fame chief administrative officer Steve Strawbridge. “We give them a first-class experience while they are here.
“We take the teams through the museum and promote the values of the game,” he said. “We look forward to providing an exceptional experience for the players, coaches, families and fans attending the games in Canton – the pinnacle of football.”
Ute said this is also a way for various parts of the state to host high school championship games.
“Our boys and girls state basketball tournaments are going to Dayton next year,” he said. “The state tennis tournament is played in Cincinnati, while our baseball and softball tournaments are held in Akron.
“Our swimming and diving tournaments are also held here in Canton,” he said. “We like to spread our championships throughout the state.
“We feel this is going to be a great experience for our student-athletes.”