Ohio High School Football Championships Moving to Canton

OHIO - State championship football games for highschoolers will once again be played in Canton. The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) announced Friday the decision to move games from Ohio Stadium in Columbus to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

OHSAA's board of directors had already signaled their desire to move back to Stark County, but their vote on Thursday and announcement on Friday made the decision official. State championship games were played in Stark from 1990 to 2013. The games were held in Columbus from 2014-2016. OHSAA says it intends to return to Ohio Stadium in Columbus in 2019.

“We had great hosts in Stark County before, and I know we will again,” said Dan Ross, OHSAA Commissioner, in a press release. “We are blessed in Ohio to have so many outstanding playoff venues like Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton and Ohio Stadium here in Columbus, and our intent all along has been to rotate the finals between the two sites. The last three years in Columbus have been great, and the timing worked out well because Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame had major stadium renovations underway at the same time.”

The 2017 title games will be played between Nov. 30 and Dec. 3. Dates and times for the various divisional games have not been finalized yet.

You can see the new stadium below:

Photo from Shutterstock