The Georgia High School Association state football championships are getting a new home in 2017, but it could be costly.
Officials from both the Atlanta Falcons and the Georgia High School Association told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they expect the state high school football championships to move from the Georgia Dome next door to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017, although terms and conditions have not been finalized.
“The Falcons organization is a committed supporter of high school football in Georgia,” Falcons President & CEO Rich McKay said. “We’re looking forward to the Georgia high school championship games continuing to be held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium for years to come, and will work with the GHSA to ensure that the games are presented in a first class manner."
GHSA executive director Gary Phillips has not been a part of any discussions directly with the Falcons regarding relocating the state championships, but is under the understanding that the games will be played at the new Falcons stadium beginning in 2017. Phillips said he expects to sit down with the Falcons early in 2016 to finalize details, which are expected to include an increase in fees to rent the facility.
“There has been some discussions about the pricing about activities in that building (Mercedes-Benz Stadium) being much different from those in the existing Georgia Dome,” said Phillips, who is in his first year as executive director of the GHSA. “I don’t have any of the specifics, but I can’t imagine they’re going to talk about a price reduction. But that remains to be seen.”
In 2014, the rate to rent the Georgia Dome for the events increased approximately 25 percent, from $25,000 to $31,000 per day. Another potential significant increase is worrisome for high school officials like Dave Hunter, whose Corky Kell Classic is one of 15 Georgia Dome legacy events expected to be relocated to the new stadium in 2017.
“We definitely don’t need another extravagant increase,” said Hunter, who has discussed the future of the Corky Kell Classic with Scott Jenkins, general manager of the new Falcons stadium. “I’ve been assured that they’ll work with us and I fully expect we’ll be playing there in 2017.”
The SEC football championship, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and SEC and ACC basketball tournaments are among the other legacy events expected to move into the Mercedes-Benz Stadium upon its completion, according the memorandum of understanding between the Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center Association. The stadium is expected to be ready for the 2017 NFL season.
Gross ticket receipts from the 2014 state football championships totaled $860,382, according to records provided by the GHSA. The total event expenses, including facility rental, staffing, food services and equipment rental totaled $248,477.88.
The GHSA may be able to offset some of any potential increase in fees through an eighth football championship game. In August, the GHSA voted to add a seventh classification, and beginning in 2016, there will be four championship games played on both Friday and Saturday.
“It’s not a bad fix for football,” Phillips said. “We’ll have the Friday schedule mirror exactly the Saturday schedule, four games each day. That’s not hard to do. Our task is going to be much harder for all the other sports.”
This season’s state football championships kick off Friday and Saturday at the Georgia Dome. The Class A (Public), Class AAA and Class AAAAA championships will take place Friday, with the Class A (Private), Class AA, Class AAAA and Class AAAAAA on Saturday. The state championships also will be held in the Georgia Dome in 2016, wrapping up a 10-year run in dome, before likely moving next door to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017. The state championship games were previously held at school sites. Semifinal games were held at the Georgia Dome prior to 2007.
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