New sites released for MSHSAA football and basketball championships
The Missouri State High School Activities Association approved new locations for both the football and basketball state championships on Friday.
The 2016 Show-Me Bowl -- which is the football championship -- will be played at Plaster Stadium at Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., for Classes 1-6. The 2017 games will be played at Faurot Field at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo.
The Show-Me Showdown -- the basketball final -- was awarded to JQH Arena in Springfield beginning with the 2017-18 school year under a five-year contract. The Hammonds Student Center will also be used for Thursday games for Classes 1-3.
"We are very excited about using a venue for our basketball championships for which we have received many positive comments," MSHSAA Executive Director Dr. Kerwin Urhahn said in a press release. "We appreciate the work that the cities put into this bid process and we have taken this process very seriously. We are especially humbled by the amount of community support the city of Springfield showed in putting together its bids. We have an obligation to our membership to find not only the best facilities to host our championships, but also the best support from the host site to serve our schools needs."
The football championships were previously held at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The basketball championships will continue in Columbia next season where its been held for the past 25 years.