FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 21, 2005
Miami chosen to host 2005, 2006 FHSAA Football Finals Presented by Dodge
GAINESVILLE – The Miami-Dade Sports Commission and the Greater Miami Athletic Conference will serve as host organizations for the 2005 and 2006 FHSAA Football Finals Presented by Dodge, the Florida High School Athletic Association office announced today.
The Class 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B state championship games will be played at Florida International University’s Community Stadium on Dec. 2-3, 2005 and Dec. 1-2, 2006. The Class 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A state championship games will be played at Dolphins Stadium on Dec. 9-10, 2005 and Dec. 8-9, 2006.
“I am excited to announce that the FHSAA Football Finals will be played in Miami for the next two years,” FHSAA Commissioner John A. Stewart said. “The FHSAA staff was fortunate to have five outstanding proposals from which to choose. The proposal submitted by the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, however, was far and away the most impressive. FIU Community Stadium and Dolphins Stadium both are outstanding facilities that will ensure all 16 state finalist teams have championship-caliber surfaces on which to play.”
Said Mike Sophia, Executive Director of the Miami-Dade Sports Commission: “We are very pleased and excited to have the opportunity to host the FHSAA Football Finals in Miami-Dade County. We look forward to having the student athletes, coaches, administrators and fans come down to Miami to compete, to enjoy our facilities and hospitality, and to celebrate one of the great events in all of sports. We are truly committed to making this a very special event for everyone involved.”
Organizations representing the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville, Orlando and Tallahassee also submitted proposals. The proposal submitted by the Gainesville Sports Organizing Committee, which has hosted the finals at the University of Florida six of the last eight years, was the other finalist.
Other cities to host the FHSAA Football Finals Presented by Dodge since the event was consolidated and moved to a central site in 1989 are Daytona Beach and Tallahassee. Miami last hosted a state football championship game in 1983 when Manatee (Bradenton) defeated Miami Southridge 27-21 for the Class 4A championship at Tamiami Stadium.
“Almost a quarter of our member schools and a third of our state’s population are located in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties,” Stewart said. “Thirty-three of the 116 schools that have reached the FHSAA Finals in the past 10 years have come from those counties. They have traveled to Daytona Beach, Gainesville and even Tallahassee and have not once complained that they had to do so. We think they are long overdue an opportunity to play close to home for a change.”
Stewart said that the FHSAA staff will work closely with Miami-Dade Sports Commission and GMAC officials to ensure that the FHSAA Football Finals Presented by Dodge are a first-class experience for everyone involved. He is particularly pleased with many of the plans the two organizations already have proposed to assist the schools that advance teams to the event.
“It was clear from the start that Miami really, really wanted this event,” Stewart said. “Key groups from the Miami-Dade County Commission to the Miami Dolphins organization itself have thrown their support behind the event. Just the possibility of hosting the event has created a buzz in their community. We’re confident that this announcement will be met with even greater enthusiasm.”
About FIU Community Stadium
FIU Community Stadium is located on the campus of Florida International University. The 17,000-seat stadium is home to the NCAA Division I FIU Golden Panthers and has a state-of-the-art AstroPlay artificial surface.
About Dolphins Stadium
Dolphins Stadium, the home field of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, has a natural Prescription Athletic Turf surface. It was the site of Super Bowl XXIII in 1989, Super Bowl XXIX in 1995 and Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999, and will host Super Bowl XLI in 2007. Dolphins Stadium also is the site of the FedEx Orange Bowl, which doubled as the 2000 and 2004 BCS national championship games.
About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of more than 740 middle and senior high schools.
Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org
