Missouri high school football and basketball state championships to change locations

The Missouri high school football and basketball state championship games are moving to a new home.

After the departure of the Rams to Los Angeles during the NFL offseason, the Edward Jones Dome lost another tenant Friday, with the announcement that the state’s high school football championships will be played in Springfield next season. The Missouri State High School Activities Association board of directors approved the move to Plaster Stadium on the Missouri State University campus for the 2016 season. In 2017, the games will move to Faurot Field in Columbia on the Missouri campus.

As the football championships seek its eventual relocation to the Missouri campus, the basketball state championship games will shift away from it.

The Class 1-6 football championships have been played at Edward Jones Dome every season since 1996.

The MSHSAA board of directors also approved a five-year agreement to move the basketball Final Four and title games to JQH Arena in Springfield, beginning in the 2017-18 school year. The small-class weekend — which consists of Classes 1-3 — will also use the Hammons Student Center for its opening day.

“We are very excited about using a venue for our basketball championships for which we have received many positive comments,” said MSHSAA executive director Kerwin Urhahn. “We appreciate the work that the cities put into this bid process and we have taken this process very seriously. We are especially humbled by the amount of community support the city of Springfield showed in putting together its bids.

“We have an obligation to our membership to find not only the best facilities to host our championships, but also the best support from the host site to serve our schools needs.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 7:16 PM with the headline "Missouri high school football and basketball state championships to change locations."