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Bowling Green awarded state football finals

October 30, 2008

The City of Bowling Green and Western Kentucky University were selected as the host site for the 2009 and 2010 Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl by the KHSAA Board of Control.

The Board had heard a presentation from WKU and Bowling Green representatives at its September meeting and, after a follow-up visit to the recently renovated Houchens/L.T. Smith Stadium by KHSAA Commissioner Brigid DeVries and Assistant Commissioner Julian Tackett, voted to award the event to Bowling Green.

Bowling Green was the only site submitting a proposal that complied with the KHSAA date and facility requests.

"After visiting with the facility and meeting with local supporters, we are excited about the proposal and having the football finals in Bowling Green," DeVries said. "Bowling Green has a lot of experience hosting large events and has excelled in hosting the Houchens/KHSAA Girls' State Basketball Tournament as well as the Leachman/KHSAA Boys' & Girls' State Golf Tournaments."

Bowling Green Convention and Visitors Bureau Sports Sales Director Amy Cardwell said to have the state finals in Bowling Green is an honor.

"It is such an honor to be awarded the opportunity to host the Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl in 2009 and 2010," she said. "Louisville has done a fantastic job and set the bar very high for this event. Our goal is to create a new experience and allow each one of these student athletes to feel like a superstar when they arrive in Bowling Green. Our city leaders, WKU, the CVB, and the entire community are collectively ready to step up to the challenge."

The State Football Finals have been played in Louisville since 1979 (1977 for Class 4A). In 2003, the event moved from the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center's Cardinal Stadium to the University of Louisville's Papa John's Cardinal Stadium which has hosted the event since.

This year's Commonwealth Gridiron Bowl is set for Dec. 12-13 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

"We are certainly appreciative of what the city, Fair Board and the University has done for the state football finals through the years," said Assistant Commissioner Julian Tackett, who manages the sport. "It's unfortunate that we were unable to secure our desired dates for the event, but we recognize that UofL's first commitment must be to its student-athletes, football program and conference."

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