Arms race, like new dorms in college. My H.S played FB in Villanova's Stadium. 13K, we outdrew the Wildcats. Some of the stadiums in Philly were awful. The world is unbalanced.
Best HS stadium?
- Thread starter steelcurtain55.
- Start date
Have you seen Fawcett lately? They completely redid it. It is awesome! They renamed it Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium
I have a wind farm customer right down the street from Portage's football field. And I am pissed that the good pizza shop went out of business (before the COVID crisis).
This is actually something I want to do myself, I think that's awesome you were able to do that! I've been to so many through my HS experience and working at games on Friday nights, but eventually want to see some more locations.
I am with you on Pine Richland. It's very nice and had a terrific food selection from what I remember, but those dinky stands on the far side take away from the stadium and I'm just not impressed by press boxes. I get they look nice, but I'm not sitting in them. As you said, it lacks some charm.
I also lump Thomas Jefferson, Montour, South Fayette, and Hampton into a group. They basically all have the same stadium built into a hillside and it feels like you are a mile and a half away from the field. Generally very nice press boxes, but again, that's not where the spectators are sitting.
Good call on Martin’s Ferry. That’s another nice Ohio Valley stadium. Been there a few times, love how it’s right by the river, the stands have those old-fashioned overhangs, and they also have no track.
Yes, I am horrible with not checking if auto correct changed it. My of my post are abominations because of that. Yet I never learn to double check.
You’re behind the times, not called Fawcett stadium any longer. Tom Benson HOF Stadium. And it is pretty sweet no with all the recent renovations.
Yeah I knew the Massillon-McKinley game was big when I moved to the area way back in 1979, when I saw an article on it week of the game on the front page of the Wall St Journal of all places.
My home field for 2 of the 3 teams Seton LaSalle and Canevin (before they added Bishop to the name). Seton LaSalle no longer calls it home. Back in the grass field days week one, I would put that field up against any other HS in the country. By week 4 it was the worse surface in HS football because ontop of the 3 varsity teams you mentioned you also had KO's Boy's and Girls Varsity and JV soccer games and the KO pop warner teams all using that field.
As for the stadium itself, yes it is cool. What stops me from mentioning it is, despite not having a track you are still far from the field due to the walk space between the field and stands.
Speaking of North Canton, Hoover also has a very nice stadium. Heard the Vikings had some great games with Steubenville back in the day.
This is one of the coolest stadiums and settings. It is in Tacoma, WA. I remember it from a movie 10 Things I Hate About You. And the High School is even cooler.
This is one of the coolest stadiums and settings. It is in Tacoma, WA. I remember it from a movie 10 Things I Hate About You. And the High School is even cooler.
I remember that movie. Gorgeous stadium and views.
Outside of the WPIAL, I’ve really liked watching games at Mechanicsburg and Middletown in the Harrisburg area (and the old Rockpile at Bishop McDevitt, God rest its soul), and also at State College and at Pottsville.
In the WPIAL, I really like North Hills. Canon-Mac has a decent setup, too, and same with Mt. Lebanon. I’ve got a thing for the older stadiums without tracks, and specifically if the stadium isn’t just part of a sprawling school campus somewhere. If it’s in a municipal park or in the middle of a town somewhere, that’s ideal.
In the WPIAL, I really like North Hills. Canon-Mac has a decent setup, too, and same with Mt. Lebanon. I’ve got a thing for the older stadiums without tracks, and specifically if the stadium isn’t just part of a sprawling school campus somewhere. If it’s in a municipal park or in the middle of a town somewhere, that’s ideal.
Hoover’s stadium is nothing special, fairly average as HS football stadiums go.
Their claim to fame w/r to HS FB is being the home of Todd Blackledge. Painfully reminded of it shortly after moving out this way.
My nephew went to Canton Lincoln.Played basebll against Blackledge. I was watching the Pitt-UPS game from '79 and Joe brought in Jeff Hostetler in the 3rd quarter. He really looked good as a freshman and I thought Jopa screwed up big time when he tried to move him to LB so Blackledge could start.Jeff was from my area and was a tremendous athlete. He probably could have been an AA linebacker. but he transferred to WVU and went on to a good Pro career including a Super Bowl championship.
Was it Mazz's pizza? That one went out of business because Mazz got arrested.
Yes! Craig Mazz right? Really good pizza. What the heck did he do? I used to buy it for the wind farm guys all the time.
Yeah, I could see that. Also, I can’t even imagine that as a grass field, because you’re right, the traffic it had on it had to be unbelievable!
However, there was definitely a magic to that stadium. I absolutely loved it! I always rave about it to anyone who will listen. It’s got to be in the top five.
That’s amazing looking!This is one of the coolest stadiums and settings. It is in Tacoma, WA. I remember it from a movie 10 Things I Hate About You. And the High School is even cooler.
Canon-Mac is a good call too. Again, that is Western PA to its core. You literally have to drive across the train tracks to get there.
I heard that whenever they were developing Southpointe, the developers offered Canonsburg the opportunity to build for free their high school in Southpointe with a new football stadium and all the rest of it. However, for whatever reason, they were rebuffed. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but that is definitely what I’ve heard. If that is true, that’s was a criminally idiotic decision by the Canonsburg brain trust.
I heard that whenever they were developing Southpointe, the developers offered Canonsburg the opportunity to build for free their high school in Southpointe with a new football stadium and all the rest of it. However, for whatever reason, they were rebuffed. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but that is definitely what I’ve heard. If that is true, that’s was a criminally idiotic decision by the Canonsburg brain trust.
Scenery, I agree WPA to the core. Watching a game from the visitors side... that place is awful. Sits so low you can barley see over the team standing on the sideline. Not sure if home stands are any better as I never sat there.
Hey, those were regulation end zones. Anyone who didn't think so was welcome to use their own tape measure to verify. I can understand (and almost sympathize) with visitors who were intimidated by the concrete wall in the corner of the south end zone, though.
That was the home field at the former West Mifflin South High School (back when West Mifflin had two high schools at opposite ends of town). The most distinctive feature I recall of that field was that the field was carved into a hillside, and the visitor's sideline (ours) was a few steps from the edge of a cliff . . .
Have you been to Upper St Clair since they added the enormous building? I'm curious what that's like.
Belle Vernon Field is one of the worst I’ve ever have seen and been on. Who originally laid the turf screwed it up bad and instead of redoing it correctly they just pulled the padding out. It’s like walking on turf from 1977. And super slick. You can see the water marks where the water puddled under the turf.
West Mifflins new facilities are top notch with the new video scoreboard, new turf put in last summer.
Chambersburg high school has really nice facilities out there and another nice stadium is Richlands High school out in Johnstown
Have you been to Upper St Clair since they added the enormous building? I'm curious what that's like.
That is our administration building. It was "built" for this past season but apparently it was not 100% operational plus parking/traffic was still restricted. This upcoming season (if there is one) will be a better judge of how the facility improved.
Ah, stop it. Everyone here knows that stadiums that are off campus stink and are no where near as good as the ones that are on campus!
WOW. Last time I was there they were just starting to tear down half of the old stadium.Have you seen Fawcett lately? They completely redid it. It is awesome! They renamed it Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium
I think he turned out to be some sort of predator. It reopened under new management for a while then closed again.
No track is key. Rare given the budgetary need for multipurpose utility at 99% of schools, but it makes the stadium.
Mitchell Stadium in Bluefield, WV. It is shared between the two Bluefields. The Bluefield, VA (Graham HS) school plays all its home and playoff appearances there making it the only school to play it's home games in another state. The state line cuts across the parking lot near the building with the green roof.
Wow. That's pretty impressive.
Mitchell Stadium in Bluefield, WV. It is shared between the two Bluefields. The Bluefield, VA (Graham HS) school plays all its home and playoff appearances there making it the only school to play it's home games in another state. The state line cuts across the parking lot near the building with the green roof.
The problem with Canon Mac's stadium has always been parking - or the lack of it. On more than one occasion, they had the chance to correct it, but the "decision-makers" were rebuffed by older, very vocal, well-intentioned, but short-sighted people who were deathly afraid that their taxes would increase.
The plan to put everything at the site of what is now "Southpointe" would've put the high school and the stadium centrally located in the school district - that is, the place where the borough of Canonsburg, Cecil Township, and North Strabane Township meet. (It's my understanding that it was an either/or conundrum: school + stadium or Southpointe). Choosing one meant you didn't get the other; choosing school + stadium would've meant that there wouldn't be Southpointe, and from a pure, economic standpoint, Southpointe has attracted a lot of high-end, high tech jobs into an area that was an outdated, dying, mining and (small) manufacturing area. Unfortunately, it meant a trade-off and tough decisions...and I suspect that they might have made a better decision with Southpointe, as painful as it was.
The borough of Canonsburg is basically land-locked re: growth, but Cecil and North Strabane Twps have been booming - making Canon Mac one of the largest school districts in the WPIAL. The growth has affected their high school sports, as they've recently won WPIAL and/or PIAA titles in the so-called "minor" sports (boys/girls soccer, baseball, softball. track-field, girls volleyball, wrestling), but they haven't gotten over-the-hump in football or basketball. And FWIW, their high school band is really impressive.
Yeah. USC is not a great stadium to watch a game. The lighting is terrible. But overall it’s not a bad place. The thing about the new building is people will rave about “their press box”, without considering it’s an administration building.
CM stadium is a good place to watch a game. It has that old western PA vibe in an old town and large mature trees around the field. Now that there’s new additional parking and locker rooms, it’s now a good place to host playoff games, which was an issue in the past because of the locker room situation that has since been corrected. It still lacks a good press box though.
Belle Vernon was mentioned a couple times here.
pro: great for being seated right on top of the field close to the action. I’m sure other stadiums are similar but I’m not sure whose.
con: the surface. The color is awful and the brand is worse. It needs replaced already and it’s not that old.
pro: great for being seated right on top of the field close to the action. I’m sure other stadiums are similar but I’m not sure whose.
con: the surface. The color is awful and the brand is worse. It needs replaced already and it’s not that old.
