North Allegheny, North Hills set to host WPIAL football finals
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Saturday, October 31, 2020 | 11:01 AM
The scoreboard at North Allegheny High School’s Wright Field at Newman Stadium features a video screen that replays game action.
The scoreboard at North Allegheny High School’s Wright Field at Newman Stadium features a video screen that replays game action as well as the band and fans in the stands.
The scoreboard at North Allegheny High School’s Wright Field at Newman Stadium features a video screen that replays game action as well as the band and fans in the stands.
The grandstand at North Allegheny High School’s Wright Field at Newman Stadium is filled to capacity during elementary school night on Sept. 20, 2019, during a game against Mt. Lebanon.
The WPIAL football finals are moving from the North Shore to the North Hills.
Heinz Field wasn’t a viable option this fall under covid-19 restrictions, so the WPIAL’s six championship games are divided instead between North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium and North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium.
Each stadium will host three.
The Class 6A championship is Nov. 6 at Martorelli Stadium. The five other finals are the following weekend, Nov. 13-14.
“We spread them out in a fashion that, if you wanted to watch them all, you could,” WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said. “Similar to the super Saturdays that we love, you can put them up on your TV or your computer screen and still watch great football here in the fall.”
KDKA-TV will broadcast the Class 6A, 5A and 4A finals. TribLive HSSN will video stream Class 3A, 2A and A online.
This is the first year since 1981 that the WPIAL football championships will be played entirely at high school stadiums.
Heinz Field wasn’t an option this fall for multiple reasons. Among them, the WPIAL had originally reserved the stadium for a weekend later in November, but the championship dates changed when the PIAA made its state playoffs earlier.
Also, the WPIAL couldn’t afford the stadium expenses with limited ticket sales.
Newman and Martorelli are two of Western Pennsylvania’s larger high school stadiums.
“The distinction of our venue and the number of people we can fit into our stadium put us into a good spot to host,” North Hills athletic director Patrick Weber said. “We have enough bleacher space where people can spread out. We can take all of the covid precautions.”
The WPIAL has called this a one-year adjustment and might return to Heinz Field in the future, but North Allegheny athletic director Bob Bozzuto said he believes the championships should leave the Steelers’ stadium behind.
“The Heinz Field experience is great. It’s a great facility but there are expenses that go with it,” Bozzuto said. “The bottom line is, for our organization, we’re better off staying in a high school stadium.”
If so, North Allegheny would offer its stadium as a long-term home, he said. The facility recently added LED light towers that Bozzuto called NFL quality, and has a scoreboard that displays game video.
“Our game management team is super and we like to host,” Bozzuto said. “We have a great stadium with all of the bells and whistles.”
North Allegheny will host the Class 3A final at 7 p.m. Nov. 13, along with the 4A final at 1 p.m. Nov. 14 and the 5A final at 7 p.m. Nov. 14.
Along with the Class 6A championship at 7 p.m. Nov. 6, Martorelli will host two games Nov. 14. The Class A final starts at 11 a.m., with 2A at 5 p.m.
Crowds will be socially distant. Statewide restrictions on gathering sizes limit football stadiums to 25% of capacity or less.
Weber said Martorelli will have about 1,000 spectators in the 4,600-seat stadium. Newman Stadium holds nearly 8,000 and can admit around 2,000.
The WPIAL will divide tickets evenly between the two schools involved in the championship, Scheuneman said. If there are unsold tickets, those will be available to fans at the gate.
The WPIAL has scheduled multiple-hour breaks between games.
“We’ll use that time for our facility services,” Weber said. “We’ll clean and disinfect the locker room areas and the stadium restrooms and common areas that people will be using.
“Our staff is great at what they do. They’re in a routine, so it’s almost second nature. It’s become the new normal, if you will.”
A couple of decades ago, North Allegheny hosted a WPIAL playoff triple-header at the stadium.
“We’ll bring a crew in and they’ll go ahead with the locker room and clean everything up for the next group,” Bozzuto said.
Many schools haven’t used locker rooms on the road during the regular season, but teams will have access for the championships.
“We’ll have them open for them at a limited capacity,” Weber said. “Especially with 6A, with bigger teams, we will be asking them to limit the number of coaches and players in the locker room space. They can utilize hallway space and other rooms that we have available there.”
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: North Allegheny, North Hills
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