By Rick Anderson
For the Grays Harbor News Group
For more than four decades, a domed stadium was the ultimate destination for state high school football teams.
After four years of all-outdoor state playoffs, Seattle’s now-defunct Kingdome hosted a multi-classification state championship program (dubbed the Kingbowl) beginning in 1977. The Tacoma Dome assumed that role in 1995.
Anywhere from two to six state title contests were played on the same day. Particularly in the early years, the term “extravaganza” was often applied to the experience.
The state’s indoor football era, however, has evidently ended. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Executive Board voted last Sunday to not renew its contract with the Tacoma Dome as a state championship venue.
Instead, the six title games apparently will be divided among three outdoor facilities to be determined.
It was a decision that was fiscally responsible and seemingly inevitable. But it will also likely hinder the quality of play, do little or nothing to stem a longstanding attendance decline and rob athletes of at least some of the ambiance of playing in a state title contest.
“Those of us who live in the real world and don’t play in palaces enjoyed playing in a domed stadium,” said South Bend athletic director Tom Sanchez, who both played (in the Kingdome) and coached (in the Tacoma Dome) in indoor state title games.
In announcing last Sunday’s decision, retiring WIAA executive director Mike Colbrese cited escalating costs and the desire to improve what had become a negative fan experience as the primary factors.
Most observers acknowledge that both reasons are legitimate.
Due primarily to a major increase in rental fees, Colbrese said it cost close to $70,000 for the WIAA to conduct six championship games at the Tacoma Dome last year.
Sanchez estimated that three-site doubleheaders probably can be staged for one-seventh of the previous cost.
Negative feedback from the recent reconfiguration of the Tacoma Dome’s seating was also justified, according to Montesano coach Terry Jensen.
“The seats were pushed back, it must have been about 20 feet high and there were line-of-sight issues,” Jensen related.
Otherwise, it’s hard to see many advantages from the move outdoors.
One obvious issue is the weather.
Playing on a fast track in the 1998 Class 1A semifinals at the Tacoma Dome, Elma and Montesano combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense as the Eagles memorably outlasted the Bulldogs in overtime, 41-40.
It’s hard to imagine that game being as memorable had the East County rivals played through the heavy rain and wind that struck Western Washington only a few days after the semifinal that year.
One wonders if the change will eventually prompt the WIAA to mandate an earlier conclusion to the football season — either by streamlining the regular season or the playoffs.
At present, the state title contests are played on the first weekend of December. But prior to the Kingbowl, all state championship games (including Raymond’s 1A title three-peat in 1973-75 and Hoquiam’s state title-game appearance at the conclusion of its legendary “4-5 and still alive” season in 1976) transpired in late November.
An interesting piece of trivia is that Raymond’s first state championship in 1973 took place only two days after the final Aberdeen-Hoquiam Thanksgiving Day game.
As evidenced by its scuttling of the traditional 16-team state basketball tournaments, the WIAA has never placed a high priority on providing a strong quality-of-life experience for the athletes it serves.
That’s also the case here. Particularly for teams from small communities, playing in a large tradition-laded stadium adds immeasurably to the state championship-game excitement.
As a defensive back on the Willapa Valley 1979 state B-11 championship team coached by his father, Bud, Tom Sanchez vividly recalls the adrenaline rush he and his teammates received from playing in the Kingdome, then the home of the Seattle Seahawks.
Drawing the dawn patrol for a 9:30 a.m. kickoff against Coulee-Hartline, the Vikings emerged from the locker room for pre-game warm-ups — in time to witness Seahawk icons Jim Zorn and Steve Largent completing a passing drill. To their credit, Largent and Zorn took time to offer a few words of encouragement to the high school players as they exited the field.
“We felt — and still do — it is a big deal (to play in the Tacoma Dome),” Jensen agreed. “If the seating reverted back to the way it was and the City of Tacoma could give a financial break to the WIAA, nothing I know now would beat that experience…Boy, those indoor buildings created a lot of memories.”
Some have speculated that the WIAA would hold off on designating state championship venues until deep into the playoffs (similar to the way regional basketball sites are selected).
Colbrese, however, indicated in an interview with the Tacoma News-Tribune that it is more likely three centrally located outdoor facilities (Tacoma’s Mount Tahoma High School and Puyallup’s Sparks Stadium are two possibilities) will be named earlier in the process.
Although the WIAA has promised lower ticket prices and the cheaper rental fees will almost certainly improve the organization’s balance sheet, it is almost equally certain that the recent attendance decline for state championship games will continue.
The new format eliminates the admittedly dwindling number of football junkies who would spend an entire day at the Tacoma Dome watching multiple title games. Inclement weather undoubtedly would discourage a fair share of the potential spectator pool.
It is highly unlikely that anyone will refer to the three-site program as an extravaganza.
“(The old format) was a celebration of football around the state, bringing the best teams of the state together for one special weekend,” Sanchez summarized. “That going away is a sad situation.”
Competing for a state championship remains special. Perhaps not quite as special, however, as before.
