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Article Comment: So Long, Little Everglades. State Meet to Find New Venue

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There in the depths of the Pasco County boonies, well-hidden from nearby Highway 301 that travels north from Dade City, lies a beautiful piece of pristine property called Little Everglades Ranch. The FHSAA State Finals has called this 2050-acre working ranch home since 2005, but that era has now come to a close after the successful 2011 state championship.
  • Old Man Dey
    Coach
    Subscriber
    jdpsu
    CoachRaposo
    Not enough love has been given to Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.



    @CoachRaposo Love it, BUT 8+ hour drive for you....
  • Alex Shaw
    Coach
    Subscriber
    Gooch7
    The FSU course is one of the best in the State and if its good enough to host NCAA Regional Championship then its well worth the High School State Championship. BUT I would never vote for ANY course in Tallahassee. It take 8 hours to make it from the MIA and that is if everything goes according to plan (in other words you are just ONE traffic jam away from not seeing the course the day before). Not only that but Im drained after 8-9 hours in a van (must be the hip hop music).

    G-Ville would be as far North as we can get.

    Solution: Buy the owners of the Ranch each a Cross Country Shirt (each worth $30) and lets get the State meet back to the Ranch. LOL
  • Reinhold Niehbur
    User
    ReinholdNiehbur
    CoachRaposo
    Not enough love has been given to Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

    Also, Ed Radice is a fun venue, but I'm not a fan of having the state meet run in three circles on bermuda grass. That doesn't sound very cross-country like to me.


    @CoachRaposo

    FSU football games make motels very difficult to come by unless you work around the football schedule every year. That's probably not ideal.
  • Coach
    Subscriber
    rcrabtree
    I think that as the years go by we will realize what we had and what we have lost. I would travel to Tally to run the Apalachee course, but my guess is that there might be too much scheduling issues to get it done. I know that some are ready to bid on the new site, and I hope we can figure it all out soon. Until then, I'm just going to be sad. doc
  • Joe Amodie
    User
    Subscriber
    mody1479
    What about Tampa Bay Downs Race Track in Oldsmar I can't think of any draw backs. They have plenty of parking lots of hotels near TIA grand stand so parents could see whole race big screen in infield cameras food services. Hey they have some of the best T-bred racehorses there maybe some of the best high school cross country runner could be perfect fit maybe someone should contact them.
  • Reinhold Niehbur
    User
    ReinholdNiehbur · Edited
    mody1479
    What about Tampa Bay Downs Race Track in Oldsmar I can't think of any draw backs. They have plenty of parking lots of hotels near TIA grand stand so parents could see whole race big screen in infield cameras food services. Hey they have some of the best T-bred racehorses there maybe some of the best high school cross country runner could be perfect fit maybe someone should contact them.


    @mody1479

    Michigan runs their state cross country meet around the Michigan speedway. it can be done and since the race track would probably have lights (I assume) that might work well for a night meet.

    Back to Tallahassee though - a Monday state meet might work very well for the weeks that FSU had a home game as the motels and hotels would be ecstatic to get large occupancy on a Sunday night. It could be held on Saturday when FSU is away or could just be run on Monday every year.

    Tallahassee would also even out the long trips that Pensacola has to take every year.

    Tallahassee does offer the chance to have a permanent site as it is only used for cross-country. What about it Chiles, Leon, etc.?
  • User
    buzzrunner
    Just thought of a few options:

    What about somewhere in Deland? The state meet used to be held at the Deland airport way back when. It may be looking into.

    Also, Triple Canopy Ranch is Lake Wales may be looking into. The Warrior Dash has been out there the past few years. Its a place usually used for mudding, etc, but it can handle the parking and my guess is you could throw together a great,real cross country out there.
  • Coach
    Subscriber
    ccmhs
    @LSFRED I have suggested having two or maybe even 4 sites for the state meet at the cross country advisory committee meeting more than once. This reduces the pressure on the number of hotel rooms and parking and everyone runs first in the cool weather. Your big head to head comparisons across classification can be done at the Flrunners.com meet or other big meets during the season.
  • User
    buzzrunner
    The state meet would never be the same for spectators OR athletes if they were at different locations. For spectators, you do not get to see all the races, which is exciting for many. For athletes, the atmosphere would not be the same. Generally speaking, two sites would mean half the spectators go to one for lets say 1A/2A, while half go to 3A/4A. It wouldnt be as thrilling for the athletes.

    1 location and 1 day is the only real way to make the state meet what is it supposed to be- special.
  • Laura Fredrickson
    Coach
    Subscriber
    LSFRED
    Bigger doesn't always mean a better atmosphere. Bigger means paying more for venue fee, Bigger means going to a venue because of parking issues and spectator issues. The cross country course and what's it like gets moved down on the priority list.

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