State Championship Games - Kickoffs now at 12:00PM and 5:00PM - Tickets now $12 for Semis and Finals

[Virginia HS Football Fan]

Several recent VHSL meeting agendas and minutes have been quietly posted on the VHSL website in the past week or so. Two things that struck my eye. The first is that the second game on State Championship Saturday is now kicking off at 5:00PM. The other is that tickets are now $12 for the state semifinals and finals.

The 4:30PM kick was already ridiculous. And for many years after moving to neutral sites in 1998, the second game kicked off at 4:00PM which was fine and made things bearable for those wanting to watch both games.

Now, if you want to stay for both games at a single site, this makes for a much longer day with the 5:00PM Kick for Game 2. And of course, the VHSL has a pretty strict no re-entry policy which makes this even more annoying.

More ineptitude by the VHSL. Other states have four hours in between games and there are no issues. But you can tell that the VHSL runs the events as bare bones as possible so I'm not shocked. They said they need more time to turn around the facilities, but that would easily be accomplished if they increased their game management staff.

 

[bulldog1150]

This was done because of the locker room situation and the post-game celebration. The venues only provide two locker rooms. When the games were closer together, the site representatives were constantly badgering the teams in the first game to get off the field and stop celebrating and then to get out of the locker room as fast as possible. This is because the teams in the 2nd game were waiting to get in the locker room, sometimes offsite. Those second teams had to rush into the locker rooms and then sometimes have a shortened pregame routine in their biggest game.

Does this new setup stink for the die-hards who want to watch two games? Yes. But is it beneficial for the players, coaches, and fans of the four teams who are participating in the state title games? Also yes.

If they have to choose one group, then I am glad the VHSL has prioritized the kids and coaches. Those teams should have the time to soak up every second of a once-in-a-lifetime day.