When St. Xavier and Elder take the field at Paycor Stadium on Friday night for the Division I, Region 4 final, it will be the first time that the home of the Bengals has hosted a high school game since 2018.
The decision was made to move the game downtown after tickets for the game’s original site, Mason High School, sold out in about an hour on Monday, Nov. 17.
With a larger venue, an additional 20,000 tickets will be made available at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at www.ohsaa.org/tickets. All tickets purchased on Monday will still be valid as Friday night’s game will be general admission.
The game will still kick off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast by Spectrum News 1. Parking will be available in the lots surrounding the stadium for $10 and all five stadium gates will open at 5:30 p.m. Paycor Stadium is a cashless facility and while concessions will be served, alcohol will not be available for purchase.
“The Cincinnati Bengals would like to thank Hamilton County for its leadership on bringing this high school football playoff game to Paycor Stadium,” said Bengals Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn. “Commissioner Denise Driehaus jumpstarted the effort and pushed everyone with the spirit of ‘let’s make this happen’. The Bengals embraced this energy and are proud to support this event. The stadium manager has undertaken enormous measures to make this game happen, and the community will benefit from having a memorable event that will support leading educational institutions in this area like Elder High School and St. Xavier High School. Every effort will be made to make this a wonderful experience for student athletes, their families, the schools and the broader community – and the Bengals thank everyone for outstanding efforts across the board. Good luck to both teams.”