Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will stay this committee from the memorable yearly completion of its appointed championship weekend.
Apologies for taking a few liberties with the unofficial U.S. Postal Service motto aside, that’s basically been the mantra of Wheeling’s Super Six Committee since its inception.
Starting in 1994 and lasting a quarter century (and counting), the Wheeling group’s due diligence and ability to adapt and overcome seemingly any obstacle has helped ensure the games stay in the northern panhandle.
“Wheeling has faced a lot of challenges, from rain, sleet, snow, freezing cold, even sun a few times,” Bernie Dolan, the executive director of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Athletic Commission.
He should know. Among his many hats, Dolan was a longtime member of the city’s committee and helped orchestrate solutions to some of those problems.
From making the switch to an artificial playing surface to having the turf cleaned following floods; to erecting a video board-style scoreboard to putting in a handicap accessible elevator for the home side of the stands; the improvements are plentiful and ongoing.
Those are just the obvious upgrades and speaks nothing for the multitude of added extras that have nothing to do with the games themselves. It’s those added touches that have transformed the Super Six Weekend from an exercise in three games and punt into an experience.
And a memorable one at that.
Yet, there may be a perfect storm of problems brewing, ready to draw down on this, the 26th edition of Super Six in Wheeling. These are obstacles out of the committee’s control but are also ones that have the potential to cause major headaches and play into the hands of those working to move the games out of Ohio County.
The Problem(s)
Traffic exiting Wheeling Island Stadium following a typical fall Friday night football game for Wheeling Park can get just congested enough to cause a smattering of blown horns out of frustration.
The Super Six, however, isn’t typical Friday night football. The stadium is packed with fans and media members to witness the battles for football supremacy in the Mountain State. It’s a must-attend event.
But now road construction along Interstate 70 must be factored in. The Fort Henry Bridge has been reduced to one lane while road crews prepare for what is projected to be a three-year process to repair or replace 26 bridges and ramp along the roadway.
To add to the driving dilemma, the Wheeling Suspension Bridge remains closed “indefinitely” to vehicular traffic after Department of Transportation Secretary Byrd White rejected all five of Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott’s options to re-open.
Dolan feels confident the committee and the city will make it work, just like it always has.
“They’ve always figured out how to get people in and then off of the Island so everyone can have a great event,” Dolan said. “Traffic is going to be a challenge but Greg (Stewart) and Dwaine (Rodgers) have been through this a number of times. They are well aware of what it takes to make this a great event.
“That’s their mission and they’ll face it and do a good job.”
But Stewart and Rodgers, the current leaders of the committee in Wheeling, will have their hands full.
Officers will be stationed helping people keep moving in the most efficient manner possible. There will be traffic and it will be slower, but Dolan noted “you don’t wait until game time to just roll in.”
“There are going to be some construction delays. They’ll just have to get up and go early, like any other big game and that actually allows you to build a little bit of atmosphere, whether in the parking lot or at the game itself. The fans will still have a good time.”
The Potential Alternating Alternative
The big process for the next round of Super Six will take place sometime in the next few months—and a challenger for the throne is emerging.
The Super Six South, a Mercer County based group, are looking to bring the championships to the southern part of the state on a rotational basis. They admire and applaud the job the Wheeling committee has accomplished but believe they can put on an equally impressive weekend and have been gearing up to make such a pitch.
“I have been attending the Super Six in Wheeling for as long as I can remember and I think the folks do a wonderful job of putting on the tournament,” said former state representative Marty Gearheart, a leading member of Super Six South. “Our proposal has nothing to do with that. They do a great job. But we think we can do a great job to and there is some legitimacy to the teams from the south not having to travel north every year.
Gearheart explained he traveled to the SSAC office in Parkersburg last December to offer a potential solution to the traffic problems Wheeling would face because of construction and repairs and offering a potential solution. His initial pitch was to rotate the games southward for a couple of years, hosting the Saturday Class AAA and A title games at Mitchell Stadium in Bluefield while the Class AA game on Friday would be played at nearby Anne S. Hunnicutt Stadium in Princeton.
Both stadiums feature artificial playing surfaces and while Hunnicutt seats around 6,000 fans, the iconic Mitchell Stadium boasts seating of around 10,000, only a few thousand less than Wheeling Island’s approximately 12,000.
Bolstering Mitchell Stadium’s prominence is the fact is was recently voted as the top high school football facility in the country in a bracket-style poll conducted by USA Today.
“We do have an iconic stadium that seats about the same number as (Wheeling),” Gearheart noted. “There are advantages and disadvantages. The (Island) has better lockerroom facilities, but we’ve found a way to overcome that. But we have a better parking situation here, along with better access.”
Gearheart also noted that while Bluefield is split between West Virginia and Virginia, there are no viable hotel options on the Virginia side of the border, keeping more of the lodging money and taxes in the Mountain State.
He spent time during last year’s Super Six taking notes on all aspects of the games, and talking to coaches, officials, and fans. He’s done his homework in effort to find what his group needs to do to loosen Wheeling’s group grip on the championships, even if only on an alternating schedule.
Gearhart insisted that the competitive bid process will help boost the quality of the games, regardless of the outcome.
“I really think the idea here is to offer the best possible championship tournament for the athletes and fans,” Gearheart said. “We may not win that, but the fact we are competing with it overall will make it better.”
