Prep Football Championships Will Shift To Tacoma

The state high school football championships will shift to the Tacoma Dome this fall after 18 years in the Kingdome.

The decision to move the one-day, five-game tourney was approved unanimously Monday by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s 10-member executive board, which met in Ellensburg.

The decision was clinched by an offer of five years of free rent from the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission, a break that will save WIAA member schools about $280,000, said Mike Colbrese, WIAA executive director.

Kingdome rental and fees last year totaled about $49,000, Colbrese said.

The deal also gives WIAA an option for a sixth year in the Tacoma Dome, but it would have to cover the rent for that year.

“It became a financial consideration. … Is tradition worth more than a quarter of a million dollars?” said Kim Wilson, a WIAA board member and athletic director for the Edmonds School District.

Ed Fisher, the coach for South Kitsap, whose teams have played four times in the Kingbowl and in Tacoma Dome semifinals seven times, said the Tacoma Dome is “a much more intimate place to play and much more exciting for the players in relationship to the fans and bands.”

“It’s a win-win for everyone involved,” said Mike Shields, director of the city-county sports panel. He said members knew “the impact an event of this magnitude would have on our community. We knew we’d have to come up with an extraordinary package.”

The commission will pay the $15,000 rental and administration fee charged by the Tacoma Dome for the first five years of the deal.

“We are disappointed that the Kingdome will no longer be the home of the Kingbowl,” said John Pleas, special projects manager for the Sports and Events Council of Seattle and King County.

“We understand their position in terms of the bottom line,” he said.