FHSAA looking for venue to host state football title games

MANATEE -- The Florida High School Athletic Association is looking for a host site for the state football championships and, perhaps, a new schedule format.

Orlando's Citrus Bowl has been the site of the FHSAA football title games since 2007.

But last Friday, the FHSAA opened bidding for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 state football finals.

Interested parties have until Friday, March 11 to place a bid. From there, the FHSAA will review the proposals, identify site finalists and conduct site surveys before choosing the venue to host the next three years worth of state football championship games.

That decision will come in the next few months.

"We've set a target deadline to have an agreement signed for May 6," FHSAA spokesperson Corey Sobers said.

The key word, though, is target. That means an agreement can be signed before or after that date. The May 6 date is when the FHSAA expects to have something finalized with a venue.

When that happens, the format for the finals will also be unveiled.

Since the 2005 season, the first with eight classes, the title games have been split over two weekends with the four smallest classifications playing one weekend and the four larger classifications playing the following weekend. That schedule was set up by the smaller classifications have one less playoff round.

With this round of bidding, the FHSAA is leaving the decision to conduct the games over two weekends or cram all into one weekend to the discretion of the venue.

If a venue's bid includes the current two weekend format, then the fall's championship games will be contested on Dec. 2-3 and 9-10. If the one weekend format is the venue's choice, the title games will be held Dec. 8-10.

Palmetto coach Dave Marino was an assistant with

Southeast when the Seminoles won back-to-back state titles in 1993 and 1994. At that time, the Noles played the championship game in Daytona under a one-weekend format.

"From a fan perspective and excitement and financial, it was great when it was a weekend format," Marino said. "For example, in '93 or '94, we played on Friday night. We were the marquee matchup. And then Manatee played on Saturday night. So you're talking, basically, all of Manatee County was over there."

Sobers said he was unaware of a venue in Manatee County submitting a bid at this point.

However, the proposal deadline is still a few weeks away.

The total attendance has exceeded 28,000 in each of the last three years the state football finals were held in Orlando.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "FHSAA looking for venue to host state football title games ."