TACOMA, Wash. — High school championship football is on the way to Tacoma this weekend, but a recent change of venue is concerning fans and district officials that there won’t be enough room for fans.
Six games will be spread across three stadiums in the greater Tacoma area: Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood and Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma.
Typically, the games were held in the Tacoma Dome. This is the first venue change since 1995.
The games will stager in their start times so that fans can make multiple games at different venues, all with one ticket. The largest crowd is expected at the Mount Tahoma Stadium.
Camas and Bothell have both been at the stadium before, and the teams don’t think there will be enough room.
“Both schools are expected to overflow the stadium. They’ve said ‘we’re bringing a big crowd and you’re not going to have enough room.’ But we’re hoping that we’re going to have more than enough room for them,” said James Neil, the athletic director for Tacoma Public Schools.
“Obviously, I love a big crowd and the 4A game is going to bring a packed house. It’s a quaint facility and with everybody in tight it’s going to be fun to watch,” he continued.
Friday afternoon preps were underway for an at-capacity crowd. Normally, the stadium holds 4,500 fans but crews have added temporary bleachers for an extra 500 people.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association said they changed venues from the Tacoma Dome due to “rising rental fees, a change in the seating configuration to let its board move in a different direction.”