FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2007
FHSAA awards 2007, 2008 Dodge Football Finals to Orlando
GAINESVILLE – The 2007 and 2008 Dodge FHSAA Football Finals state championship games will be played at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, the FHSAA Office announced today.
The Central Florida Sports Commission, the City of Orlando and Edgewater High School will serve as co-hosts for the event. It will mark the first time that the football finals have been held in Orlando since the FHSAA began staging the event at a central site in 1989.
“We are very excited about bringing the Association’s biggest state finals event to Orlando,” Commissioner John A. Stewart said. “We’ve long wanted to bring a major state finals event to the Orlando area and we’re pleased that we now have the opportunity to do so. The setting provided at the Florida Citrus Bowl will provide a great atmosphere for the 16 participating teams.”
The four-day event consists of eight state championship games. It is held over two weekends, with two games played on Friday and two games played on Saturday of both weekends. The dates for the 2007 football finals are Dec. 7, 8, 14 and 15. The dates for the 2008 event are Dec. 12, 13, 19 and 20.
“One way to build a great city is by attracting great events,” noted Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “We have once again accomplished that goal by bringing the Dodge FHSAA Football Finals to Orlando for the first time. Our city is already the home of two of our nation’s great college bowl games. Now playing at the Citrus Bowl is also the ultimate goal for the state’s top high school players and teams.”
“We are proud to align Central Florida with the most popular, high-profiled high school championship of the school year,” said John Saboor, president of the Central Florida Sports Commission. “The I-4 corridor is a hotbed for storied prep football programs, making the Citrus Bowl a natural fit for the Dodge FHSAA Football Finals. Thanks to the hard work of our partners at the City of Orlando and Edgewater High School, the state’s spotlight will shine on our community for the next two Decembers.”
“The Citrus Bowl is the ideal location for the Dodge FHSAA Football Finals,” Orlando Centroplex Director Allen Johnson stated. “Our city is easily accessible for high school players, coaches and fans around the state. Our stadium also provides a grand stage for the highlight event of the prep season.”
“This is a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said Edgewater High School Athletic Director Bry Rankin. “It’s great for the FHSAA, the participating teams and the spectators who will come to our beautiful city and take advantage of our numerous accommodations and amenities. Edgewater High School is excited about partnering with the City of Orlando and the Central Florida Sports Commission to present the best Dodge FHSAA Football Finals possible.”
Other cities submitting proposals to host the 2007 and 2008 football finals were Gainesville, Tallahassee and Miami, which served as host city for the event the past two years.
“The FHSAA staff thought it said a great deal about the football finals to have the number of quality proposals that we had, and that made our job of selecting one of them as the site for the event that much more difficult,” Stewart said. “In the end, however, it was Orlando’s central location to the vast majority of schools that participate in our state football series that was the deciding factor.”
Of the 494 high schools that have committed to participate in the 2007 and 2008 FHSAA State Football Series, 337 of them, or 68 percent, are located within a three-hour drive of Orlando.
“Central Florida Sports Commission President John Saboor told us a year ago that he was committed to bringing FHSAA Finals events to the Central Florida area,” Stewart said. “We took the first step toward a partnership with his organization by awarding it the rights to host the swimming & diving finals in Orlando. That partnership is now firmly established today. We look forward to what we are certain will be a prosperous relationship for all involved.”
The Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium seats 65,438. It is the home of the Capital One Bowl, Champs Sports Bowl and the annual Walt Disney World Florida Classic game between Bethune-Cookman College and Florida A&M University. The stadium turf is 419 Bermuda Grass. The stadium is owned and operated by the City of Orlando.
About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida. It has a membership of more than 700 middle and high schools, and sponsors postseason competitions to determine the official state high school champions in 28 different sports.
About the Central Florida Sports Commission
The Central Florida Sports Commission is a non-profit, private organization created to attract international, national and regional events and sports-related business and activities to Central Florida. The Sports Commission is the Central Florida area’s clearinghouse and first point of contact for sports and sports-related activities and is committed to developing the region’s sports product.
Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org
Jason Maderer
Marketing Manager
Central Florida Sports Commission
(407) 648-4900 ext. 16
jmaderer@orlandosports.org
