WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Some state high school football championship games are returning to South Florida for the first time in more than a decade.
The Florida High School Athletic Association announced Tuesday that the 2021 and 2022 state championship games for Class 8A-4A will be played at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The Class 3A-1A state championships will be played at Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee.
DRV PNK Stadium is home to Major League Soccer's Inter Miami CF. The 18,000-seat stadium, which opened last year, was built on the site of the demolished Lockhart Stadium, which last hosted a state championship game in 1973.
The Class 3A-1A games will be played Dec. 9-11, while the Class 41-8A games will be held Dec. 16-18.
While Fort Lauderdale will be a host site for state championship games for the first time since Hollywood Hills High School defeated Jacksonville's William M. Raines High School in 1973, they also mark a return to South Florida for the first time in 15 years.
The last time a South Florida venue hosted the state championships was in 2006 at what is now known as Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins and college football's Miami Hurricanes.
Last year's state championship games were played at Florida State's Doak S. Campbell Stadium at Bobby Bowden Field.
Daytona Beach and Tallahassee split the state championship games in 2019. Orlando's Camping World Stadium (formely known as the Citrus Bowl) was home to the state championships from 2007-18.
South Florida teams are frequently represented in the state championship games. Seven of the eight state champions in 2019 were from Broward and Miami-Dade counties. South Florida teams won five of eight championships and played for another last year.