All seven high school football championship to be played at Pueblo’s ThunderBowl
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- For the first time in modern history, all seven of Colorado's high school football state championships games will be played in one place: Pueblo.
According to the Colorado High School Activities Associations (CHSAA), all seven games will be played from December 3rd to the 5th at Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl on the CSU-Pueblo campus.
CHSAA unanimously approved the move on Tuesday.
The ThunderBowl has been hosting the 2A and 3A state championships for the past two years.
"When Mile High Stadium was not available due to cost, CHSAA came to us and asked if we could do 4A and 5A," said Dan DeRose with Friends of Football, the owners of the ThunderBowl. "We said yes. Then they asked if we could do 6-man, 8-man, and 1A, and we said yes -- 'cause that's what we do, we say yes."
Friends of Football worked with the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment to get a variance approved by the state in order to play the games at the ThunderBowl.
Currently, the ThunderBowl will hold around 1,400 fans in the stadium for the games. However, if Pueblo County moves up on the COVID-19 restrictions dial, which is expected to occur later this week, that number will decrease.
"There are always concerns, we're all concerned (about COVID-19)," said DeRose. "Everyone's going to know all the dos and don'ts. There is a separate entrance for each pod of fans. A pod is only 175. They have to travel in groups. There is detail after detail after detail. That's the only reason it was approved. [The ThunderBowl] will be the safest place to be in Pueblo on December 3rd, 4th, and 5th."
