The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has officially begun accepting State Final Hosting Bids for its Football State Finals and Dance State Finals, respectively, as the IHSA released the Site Proposal Specifications for both events to interested venues on January 18.
The IHSA Football State Finals annually play out each November with eight championship games on the Friday (1A-4A) and Saturday (5A-8A) of Thanksgiving weekend. The University of Illinois has hosted the games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign since 1999, but a change in the Big 10 schedule has prompted the IHSA to find a host for its title games in odd years beginning in 2013. The Site Proposal Specifications seek a host for five seasons (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021). Memorial Stadium will continue to host the games in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020.
The IHSA will hold its inaugural Dance State Final on Friday and Saturday, January 25-26, 2013. The IHSA is seeking a five-year hosting contract for Dance as well, spanning from 2013 through 2017.
“It is always an exciting and interesting process when we seek new hosts for state final events,” said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. “The most important part of this process is finding a venue that allows us to host a first-class tournament that the student-athletes, coaches and fans will never forget. We feel like our events bring a lot of positives to the communities who embrace them and are confident that we will have several parties interesting in hosting both the football and dance state finals.”
The IHSA plans to announce the hosts for both events in June.
Dance Team Site Proposal Specifications
Football Site Proposal Specifications