By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The first year of having all seven Missouri high school football championships in St. Joseph was a successful event.
St. Joseph Sports Commission Director Brett Esely says he judges the success of the event on the experience of participants and the feedback received. And Esely says the feedback has been positive.
Esely says one thing that was validated in the first year was that Spratt Stadium at Missouri Western State University was the perfect size for these games
"You know if you came to the Class 5 championship game in which Platte County won on Friday night or the Class 6 championship game where Lees Summit won on Saturday night, you saw a stadium that was absolutely electric, it was almost full,” Esely tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “And again, that’s the environment a state championship should be played in, and in all due respect to Faurot Field in Columbia, you’re really going to struggle to get that just because of the stadium size.”
Esely says there are not a lot of stadiums in this state that are set up and built to host three football games in one day any better than Spratt Stadium is as well which made for a memorable three days.
Esely says he's received several positive comments about the championships, the most positive being teams saying that it felt like they were wanted here
"I think that’s absolutely evident to people that saw the championship behind the scenes, the administrators, the media, is we definitely wanted them there,” Esely explains.
And Esely says no matter if it's a team as close as Platte County, or as far as Live for Life Academy from St. Louis
"I think you walked into an environment that was championship ready, I think the red carpet was rolled out for those folks, and I think it definitely left a good impression, not only for this year, but the next three guaranteed years we have,” Esely says.
Esely says while the event was successful, they are always evaluating how to improve the event, all the way from concessions to security.
Esely says first and foremost though, it's about the experience given to the 14 teams, and that it felt like a championship environment.
"I think based on the feedback that we received is we delivered there,” Esely says. “And we also want to make sure that our partner is happy as well, and that’s our friends at the Missouri High School Activities Association, they trusted us to bring their championship here and they certainly have a level of expectation as well, and I think their staff left here happy late Saturday night as well.”
Esely says the hope is a good impression was left and the success of the event leads to even more success in the next three years, and hopefully even longer term.
JOURNAL
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.