Why the PIAA gave Hershey a goodbye kiss

Next week, when basketball teams across the Commonwealth clinch a trip to the state championship game fans will inevitably throw Hershey Kisses into the air. It’s become a rite of passage, a way to celebrate a trip to Hershey, where championship dreams await.

Fans have done that for decades during football season, too, but that tradition is no more. The PIAA ended that last month when it announced, to the surprise of many, that it was moving its championships for football across the river to Cumberland Valley High School.

There’s always been something special about the thought of heading to “Chocolatetown” and playing games at Hersheypark Stadium. Hershey has long been a destination because of the amusement park, the chocolate factory and other attractions.

Who didn’t look forward to going there as a kid?

It’s been that way for high school athletes, especially those here in District 3. Getting to Hershey has always been the goal, a sign you’ve had a great season.

Those warm feelings haven’t been mutual in recent years. Management at Hersheypark Stadium hasn’t been as excited about hosting the games as fans, players and coaches have been about playing there. Conditions in the stadium have deteriorated badly over the years. The locker rooms have long been outdated. Same goes for the press box. Stadium seating and amenities lag decades behind.

The PIAA has tried for years to get management to upgrade, but to no avail. That’s the biggest reason it is headed to Cumberland Valley.

“They are well aware of the items and the complaints that we’ve received,” Dr. Robert Lombardi, executive director of the PIAA, said on a recent episode of the Mike Drago Sports Podcast. “There’s (been) no lack of feedback given to them over the past number of years. It’s been very difficult for some of our schools (to play there).”

Lombardi was delicate choosing his words; he and the PIAA still need Hershey and its Giant Center for basketball and wrestling championships. He doesn’t want to spoil the relationship.

It’s long been known that tension exists between the state’s high school governing body and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, which manages the stadium, arena and theme park. It’s become increasingly harder and harder for District 3 to schedule its basketball tournament at Giant Center.

Herco can pull in millions for a Friday night concert at Giant Center; why should it bother hosting a basketball event that will bring in a fraction of that amount?

That’s why championship games were moved away from that site a couple years ago, and why this year’s district championships were split into marathon Thursday and Saturday sessions — six games each day — rather than spread across three days. Herco didn’t make the Friday date available; it hosted a Journey concert instead.

Cumberland Valley, which is planning stadium upgrades, was selected over bids from Altoona, Hershey and Penn State.

Money, the answer to most questions, is the reason it was selected. It will end up costing the PIAA only about $2,600 a year to host its six football championships (thanks in part to the Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation, which will contribute $8,000 per year).

Nittany Lions coach James Franklin wanted to see the football championships played at Beaver Stadium; the PIAA would like that, too. It would give their championships a big stage. Some cachet. Players and coaches would love competing on that storied field.

It’s not going to happen unless Franklin, one of the highest paid coaches in the nation, is willing to pick up the tab. Penn State would charge the PIAA $240,000 to host the six games, according to a report in the Altoona Mirror. That figure would’ve been reduced to $140,000, thanks to an offer from the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau to contribute $100,0000.

That’s still way over the cash-strapped PIAA’s budget.

“We’re just not getting the crowds (we once did),” Lombardi said. “Our attendance in football has been dwindling severely. This year we barely had 15,000 (for the six games).”

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association is a self-funded, non-profit organization. It receives no state funding. It’s primary source of revenue is tickets for championship events.

The organization is between a rock and a hard place. It must follow regulations established by the Pennsylvania Legislature and adhere to the wishes of its members, Pennsylvania’s public and private schools, yet it doesn’t receive funding from either.

It would like to be able to use state-funded college facilities, at Penn State, and throughout the PSAC, for its championship events, but is often met with resistance. Either the facilities are not made available or the price tag is beyond reach.

“If we didn’t have to pay a rental fee, that would help us tremendously,” Lombardi said. “That would go a long way.”

So, for now, Pennsylvania’s football championships will be contested at a high school stadium. Lombardi is hopeful.

“Sometimes when you change (venues), you breath a little lifeblood into the event,”he said. “This isn’t a perfect science, but we think this is the right move at this time.”