GHSA president likes MBS championships — unless 2025 signals financial trend

Finch, the superintendent of Monroe County Schools, is also chairman of the GHSA’s board of trustees and an influential voting member of the GHSA’s executive committee, the ultimate authority on where state finals are played.

The GHSA renewed its contract with Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the 2026 season in January for essentially the same deal as 2025, GHSA executive director Tim Scott said Tuesday.

The AJC first reported this week that expenses exceeded income by $26,148 during the Dec. 15-17 finals. No other state finals have lost money since moving to a single neutral site in 2008.

The GHSA used $150,000 from its reserves this year to ensure that the 16 participating schools were paid an average of $9,910, about the same as the previous two years at Mercedes-Benz. A drop in attendance and a rise in the cost of securing the venue caused the downturn.

Finch noted that the GHSA has received only $20 per ticket since those first neutral-site finals 18 years ago at the Georgia Dome. From that cost, $3 goes back to Mercedes-Benz, whereas the GHSA paid only $1 per ticket when at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium from 2019 to 2022.

Scott doesn’t like the idea of a ticket price hike. “We’ll try to keep from doing that if we can,” he said.

But if the GHSA had raised ticket prices to receive $25 per ticket last year, income would’ve been $230,660 higher on December’s attendance number of 46,132.

“I’m not advocating for higher ticket prices to help cover expenses,” Finch said. “But we’re kidding ourselves if we think ticket revenue generated from a price point that was the same as 20 years ago is going to maintain pace with current expenditures.”

Finch also conceded that the Monday-Wednesday schedule is not ideal for fans. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is not available on the weekend the GHSA needs it, leaving the weekday schedule as the only option.

“The schedule of Monday-Wednesday doesn’t help either,” Finch said. “Your casual fans will not show up as well for a schedule that spans those days of the week. Of course, in a perfect world, we would be hosting games at MBS Thursday-Saturday.”

Paid attendance for the weekday games has been historically good, though, averaging 48,949 in the three seasons since the GHSA moved the finals back to Mercedes-Benz. It dropped 10% in 2025 from 2024, leading to $125,813 less in ticket revenue.

The finals averaged only 26,971 in paid attendance during the four-year run at Center Parc, an open-air stadium that suffered bouts of bad weather.

The GHSA and participating teams made nearly twice the money at Georgia State than Mercedes-Benz because of cheaper rent and facility fees. Mercedes-Benz charged $705,261 for rent in 2025, up 44.8% from 2023.

The GHSA’s best attendance success per team and game came during its Georgia Dome run from 2008 to 2016. Those finals averaged 42,577 in paid attendance while played over just two days and having only five games the first four seasons. The finals went to three days in 2021 and now include five flag-football games.

For the coming season, the eight finals are scheduled for two days, four each day, on Dec. 14-15 or Dec. 15-16, the GHSA announced in February. The five flag football championships, normally played preceding the tackle football finals, will be played as a standalone event Dec. 8.

Though flag football is the GHSA’s fastest-growing sport since its inception in 2020, it doesn’t drive revenue in the finals. The GHSA reported 43,331 in ticket sales for tackle football and 2,801 for flag football in 2025. The cost of staging the flag football finals, which includes paying the 10 teams $500 apiece, came to $13,814 last year.

Scott was asked if he considered staging the flag football championships at less-expensive venue and paying for only two days rent at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for tackle football.

“That could obviously be a discussion, but I’d have to ask myself how would I feel if I put the girls in a lesser facility than the boys,” Scott said. “They’re equally as important to me.”

Plus, the Atlanta Falcons are big flag football supporters. The team’s foundation is awarding grants of more than $1.5 million to the more than 300 GHSA flag football teams this year.

Another way to increase football revenue, some say, would be moving the finals back to high school stadiums. Those advocates include Lincoln County coach Lee Chomskis, Gainesville athletic director Adam Lindsey and former Bowdon coach Rich Fendley, whose teams were in the 2025 finals.

Finch is against turning back that clock.

“That’s only fun for those communities that get to host – and they end up winning,” Finch said. “For example, during my time at Peach County (as a teacher and coach), we hosted the 1998 and 2003 AAA state championship games in Fort Valley at Anderson Stadium. And we ended up losing both of those games. We then went on the road to Dougherty in 2005 and won it. Officials wouldn’t let our fans on the field at Hugh Mills Stadium, so there was basically no celebration.”

Finch believes that neutral sites are better for fans watching on TV and sponsors and advertisers wanting to reach a broader audience.

“The concept of hosting state football championships on the school campuses is nostalgic but not practical, especially in the area of neutrality for a high-stakes game,” Finch said. “But it’s important to note, the expenses are down (when playing on high school fields), and the schools tend to make more money. I personally tend to lean towards the neutral field aspect and controlled weather at the Benz.”