COLUMBUS – Ohio’s high school football championship games are returning to the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the next two years.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors voted Thursday to play all seven state championship games at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton in 2017 and 2018, commissioner Dr. Dan Ross said.
The OHSAA staff had previously confirmed its intent to return to Canton in 2017 and 2018 and the unanimous vote by the nine-member board makes the move official.
After a 24-year stay in Stark County from 1990-2013, the games were held at Ohio Stadium in Columbus in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
“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,” Ross said.
The stadium complex, next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, includes the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, a $600 million development project that will include hotels, shopping, a conference center and parking decks.
Ross says the OHSAA intends to return to Ohio Stadium in Columbus for the 2019 state championship games.