Move the SCHSL Football Championship Game to Clemson?
I think not.
According to The State Paper (Columbia, SC) Clemson head football coach Tommy Bowden is lobbying to get the SCHSL (South Carolina High School League) to move the state title games in football from Williams-Brice Stadium, the home of rival USC, to Death Valley in Clemson.
The argument being made by Bowden, as well as statehouse senators Dan Cooper of Anderson and Harvey Peeler of Cherokee, is that it isn't fair to Clemson University, or the city of Clemson, that all the games are played in the middle of the state.
According to the article, 30,000 fans attend the title games, bringing in monetary gains to the city of Columbia.
I'm afraid Bowden and the members of the General Assembly are wrong on this.
From a convenience standpoint, it is illogical to move the games to Clemson. The town of Clemson simply does not have the infrastructure to support 30,000 people. Some may argue that Clemson caters to roughly 80,000 a Saturday. This is true, but these people aren't sleeping in hotels and eating at restaurants; they come in their cars at the crack of dawn-allegedly-bring their own food, and then leave later that day.
The families of high school athletes come a few days before, sleep in hotels, and eat out at restaurants, two things that the city of Clemson doesn't have an abundance of. Columbia has multiple hotels and restaurants in the Vista and other areas that are relatively close to the stadium.
Economically, this is wrong to do to the city of Columbia. The title games bring in revenue to Columbia, a much larger city than Clemson. Clemson doesn't necessarily require the economic boom, since the town grew up around the school. Not saying that Clemson couldn't use the money, but the city of Columbia I imagine NEEDS it more.
Thirdly, location. Any smart business man-probably a graduate from USC's Moore School of Business ironically-will tell you the fundamental idea of a good business is location, location, location. Columbia is centrally located in the state, making travel convenent for those travel from both the coast and the foothills. If the game was moved to Clemson, families in the upstate would have an unfair travel advantage over those in the lower half of the state. A question to ask is, "Would 30,000 people come to Clemson?" Maybe, but most of those would be from the upstate.
So, the title games should stay in Columbia. It makes sense from a convenance, economic, and location standpoint. A fourth point can be that it is called the South Carolina High School League, and the capital of the state is, you guessed it, Columbia.
Another argument was made by Bowden that this gives USC a recruiting advantage. Well, Bowden is wrong again. The last few years, Clemson has won the instate recruiting battle according to most recruiting experts.
My advice to Bowden is that he should stop worrying about the SCHSL title games, and keep focused on his football program.
Last I checked he is trying to find some offensive lineman, as well as some linebackers. Either that, or he should focus on winning the ACC and beating the top talent, like Virginia Tech-something he hasn't done in 10 years being there.
According to The State Paper (Columbia, SC) Clemson head football coach Tommy Bowden is lobbying to get the SCHSL (South Carolina High School League) to move the state title games in football from Williams-Brice Stadium, the home of rival USC, to Death Valley in Clemson.The argument being made by Bowden, as well as statehouse senators Dan Cooper of Anderson and Harvey Peeler of Cherokee, is that it isn't fair to Clemson University, or the city of Clemson, that all the games are played in the middle of the state.
According to the article, 30,000 fans attend the title games, bringing in monetary gains to the city of Columbia.
I'm afraid Bowden and the members of the General Assembly are wrong on this.
From a convenience standpoint, it is illogical to move the games to Clemson. The town of Clemson simply does not have the infrastructure to support 30,000 people. Some may argue that Clemson caters to roughly 80,000 a Saturday. This is true, but these people aren't sleeping in hotels and eating at restaurants; they come in their cars at the crack of dawn-allegedly-bring their own food, and then leave later that day.
The families of high school athletes come a few days before, sleep in hotels, and eat out at restaurants, two things that the city of Clemson doesn't have an abundance of. Columbia has multiple hotels and restaurants in the Vista and other areas that are relatively close to the stadium.
Economically, this is wrong to do to the city of Columbia. The title games bring in revenue to Columbia, a much larger city than Clemson. Clemson doesn't necessarily require the economic boom, since the town grew up around the school. Not saying that Clemson couldn't use the money, but the city of Columbia I imagine NEEDS it more.
Thirdly, location. Any smart business man-probably a graduate from USC's Moore School of Business ironically-will tell you the fundamental idea of a good business is location, location, location. Columbia is centrally located in the state, making travel convenent for those travel from both the coast and the foothills. If the game was moved to Clemson, families in the upstate would have an unfair travel advantage over those in the lower half of the state. A question to ask is, "Would 30,000 people come to Clemson?" Maybe, but most of those would be from the upstate.
So, the title games should stay in Columbia. It makes sense from a convenance, economic, and location standpoint. A fourth point can be that it is called the South Carolina High School League, and the capital of the state is, you guessed it, Columbia.
Another argument was made by Bowden that this gives USC a recruiting advantage. Well, Bowden is wrong again. The last few years, Clemson has won the instate recruiting battle according to most recruiting experts.
My advice to Bowden is that he should stop worrying about the SCHSL title games, and keep focused on his football program.
Last I checked he is trying to find some offensive lineman, as well as some linebackers. Either that, or he should focus on winning the ACC and beating the top talent, like Virginia Tech-something he hasn't done in 10 years being there.
Comments
Post a Comment