Lets not forget NIU is a very easy drive for A LOT of the suburbs. I live in the NW burbs and would much rather make that drive than drive to Soldier Field.
Bears to compete with IHSA
- Thread starter MC63
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That is my point. These games on Thanksgiving weekend are not going to increase much with a venue change. People have family things planned but I also don't think they increase significantly on another weekend. It is just not a draw to casual fans and that is ok.
And don't get me wrong, I get to watch my fair share of games!
No..,but I would love to see just how things would go a week earlier.....
And I'll say it again, the casual fan doesn't go to the championship games now, moving them to Chicago won't change that. You think any of the fans of Bloomington or Normal schools go to the games if their teams aren't playing just because it's in their backyard?
How many more people do you see attending games at Soldier Field vs. Bloomington? I don't think it's enough to make a difference in overall attendance. How many people attended the prep bowl at Soldier Field?
The casual fan doesn't go to the championship games now, moving them to Chicago won't change that. Disagree. You'll get more alumni and fans of the school to attend. Parents, immediate family and those who ride the fan bus are going no matter where it's at in the state.
You'd get more high school players to go to the games. IE, I would bet numerous CCL players would want to go watch the state finals at Solider Field but ain't traveling to Bloomington or Champaign to watch em.
You think any of the fans of Bloomington or Normal schools go to the games if their teams aren't playing just because it's in their backyard? Yes
How many more people do you see attending games at Soldier Field vs. Bloomington? I don't think it's enough to make a difference in overall attendance. Only one way to find out.
How many people attended the prep bowl at Soldier Field? Clown question
It's never going to be at Solider Field, I get it and don't care. I'm just of the opinion that it would be cool to have the games there and you would get larger crowds.
And you know this how?
I got home from ISU last fall at around 1:45 in the morning because the 8A game got over so late. Don't know if I would do that again. I'd definitely do it again if I knew I could be home by 11:45 or 12.
Why use that one example of one school from one class? Most of the larger schools in the finals are Chicago area schools. Would it be worth it if an extra thousand or so fans from each of last year's 10 Chicago area finalists attended a game in Soldier Field.
And, yes, I just might go to the 8A game in Soldier Field if LA wasn't in it. Wouldn't be the first time I attended a title game without LA in it.
You're leaving out the factor of it being Thanksgiving weekend. The casual fan isn't abandoning family plans to go to a HS football game, regardless of location.
From many suburban locations it can still take up to an hour to get to Soldier Field.
Even if everything you said is true, with the size of Soldier Field it's not going to appear as though there is a larger crowd.
So you want to change the system to be more convenient for you? I don't remember hearing any ESL fans complaining about Dekalb.
Most are within an hour of Soldier Field and 2 hours from Bloomington. It's a very small group of you complaining about an extra hour of travel for one game.
Now your changing the goalposts and adding Thanksgiving weekend as a factor and even if there’s more people the stadium will look empty.
👍🏻
Go back and look, I've made the point about Thanksgiving weekend multiple times.
It's fairly obvious that 10,000-15,000 people in a 60,000 seat stadium would look empty.
ISU is about 10 miles farther from the population center of the state (roughly Morris) than Soldier Field. So they're roughly equal in their ability to centrally serve the most amount of people equally.
I’d rather sit in the farm fields of Central IL than the Lake front of Chicago on a late November day. Build me a dome and we can talk.
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Let’s meet in the middle here
With 15k in attendance will soldier field look empty YES
Is it foolish to think that a 2 hour drive won’t affect attendance for 2/3 of the state YES
If I had to pick a location for the state game for 1 year - North Central College or the dome at Northwestern
- no parking or stands
IMO the state game needs to be played under a dome and this does NOT exist in Illinois
With 15k in attendance will soldier field look empty YES
Is it foolish to think that a 2 hour drive won’t affect attendance for 2/3 of the state YES
If I had to pick a location for the state game for 1 year - North Central College or the dome at Northwestern
- no parking or stands
IMO the state game needs to be played under a dome and this does NOT exist in Illinois
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Personally, I don't think any HS games or college games should be played at Soldier Field as long as the Bears play there and it is natural grass.
That and I'm not sure what hoops would need to be jumped through for it to be ok with the park district.
Location too. Close to 55/294. People from southern/western IL would not have to travel into the city. I always thought it would be a good spot for a multi-game season opening series. Similar to the “classics” that used to be hosted at Soldier Field/NIU.
