Going north Saturday to watch Camas play in the Class 4A football state title game?
Expect a new, outdoor championship game-day experience.
Staying home and planning to watch the game on TV?
Think again.
Saturday is new territory for Washington high school state championship football, as all six title games are hosted outdoors at three high school facilities in the South Sound region.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association is anticipating large crowds at all three venues, including the one hosting its largest-classification title game.
The 4A game between No. 2 Camas (13-0) and No. 5 Bothell (11-2) is part of a championship doubleheader at George Nordi Stadium, on the campus of Tacoma’s Mount Tahoma High School. At noon is the 1B title game (8-man) game between Naselle (12-0) and Odessa (12-0), followed by Camas-Bothell at 4 p.m.
The WIAA’s Executive Board voted in May not to renew its contract with the Tacoma Dome as the host site for Gridiron Classic, citing rising rental costs and fan experience as major factors behind the decision. The venue hosted state championship football since 1995, replacing the KingDome as the finals site.
In September, three high school venues in Pierce County — Mount Tahoma, Sparks Stadium in Puyallup (3A, 2A) and Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood (1A, 2B) — were selected to host the finals.
In October, the WIAA and ROOT Sports finalized a broadcast deal for championship football that did not include the Class 4A title game.
ROOT Sports will only live-televise the Class 3A and 2A title games at Sparks Stadium. It’s the first time since ROOT Sports began broadcasting the Washington state high school championship football in the late 1990s that the 4A game will not be televised.
The 4A title game between Camas and Bothell will be live-streamed online with audio through the subscription-based NFHS Network (nfhsnetwork.com). Cost is $69.99 a year or $10.99 a month.
The game also will be broadcast by Seattle radio station KJR, which can be heard online at sportsradiokjr.iheart.com.
While championship sites are new for 2019, it doesn’t deter from a championship atmosphere WIAA executive director Mick Hoffman anticipates for players and spectators.
Mount Tahoma is the largest venue of Saturday’s championship sites. It holds 5,000 seated spectators between its covered west (home) and east (visitors) grandstands and proves it can host big events and sustain large crowds. Since 2009, Mount Tahoma is home to the Class 4A, 3A and 2A state track and field championships.
By comparison, Vancouver’s McKenzie Stadium, where Camas played last Saturday, seats about 6,000, while Doc Harris Stadium, Camas’ home field, has a seating capacity of about 4,000.
Camas sits on the top-half of the playoff bracket, which pits the Papermakers as the designated visiting team Saturday. That goes for spectators, too, but Hoffman said seating is open for both fan bases around the stadium.
He added portable seating will be set up in both end zones, and standing is permitted along the fence line that borders the track.
“We anticipate getting everybody in,” Hoffman said. “Hopefully, people are lining the field, cheering for their teams and it’s a great game.”
Fan experience should be cheaper, too, Hoffman said. Ticket prices ($16 for adults, $11 for students with ASB card) don’t include a surcharge, and parking is free. Both concession stands at the stadium will be open.
Plus, a better viewing of the field. That was a common complaint at last year’s finals with the revised seating reconfiguration at the Tacoma Dome.
“From a fan perspective,” Hoffman said, “that all should be better.”
