Vote: Where would the most ideal location be for the Florida football state championships?

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has had its football state championships at a number of different locations over the years throughout the Sunshine State.

Some of the venues have been right in the smack dab middle of the state to being down in South Florida and like last year, hosted in the Big Bend region.

We've got the Super Bowl coming around the corner in Las Vegas and the biggest main event for high school football seemingly isn't decided until at some point during the season. We jump way ahead and put together a list of eight locations we think would be suitable for the football state championships in Florida.

Take a look at the eight locations and vote on which one do you think is the best in the Sunshine State. Voting ends February 29, 2024.

Here are the nominations:

Camping World Stadium, Orlando: There's plenty to like about the 407 and one of the biggest reasons why it may be the best city to have a state championship game in is because of being centrally located. Camping World Stadium always comes to mind as the venue where you would host such an event like the FHSAA state championships. With Disney right over in Kissimmee for families to make a mini-vacation out of it, Orlando always provides an argument to be the best location of them all.

Hard Rock Stadium, Miami: The last time the home field of the Miami Dolphins' was used to host the FHSAA state championships was back in 2006 and there's always something about being down in the 305. Though the stadium itself is more near Miami Gardens, South Florida is likened to a getaway vacation spot for many. When it comes to convenience to the rest of the state wanting or having to travel for a state championship, it becomes more of an issue in trying to the team, staff and fans if you're a northern Florida or panhandle program.

DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale: A wonderful host in 2021 and 2022, DRV PNK Stadium provided a beautiful venue just minutes away from downtown Fort Lauderdale. Like Hard Rock Stadium, it's down in South Florida, so the rest of the state it would be quite a drive to get down for states. There's plenty to like about the stadium itself, as it proved to be not too big of a venue and the crowds that filled DRV provided a 'big game' feel.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville: I mean, who wouldn't want to play at the University of Florida? Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was the home to the high school football state championships for years, before the FHSAA decided to move things to South Florida back in 2006. Though Gainesville isn't exactly centrally located like Orlando, it's right off of the I-75 corridor, providing easy travel for most, outside of South Florida teams. Oh yeah, Gainesville is the home of the FHSAA.

Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee: Depending on your overall experience at the most recent host stadium/city for the FHSAA finals, Bragg Memorial Stadium did the trick. The venue, like DRV PNK, isn't a massive stadium like an NFL field, but gives off enough to provide the feeling it's a big game. Many renovations have been done to Bragg Memorial in order to host more events other than FAMU games. Will this be the host once again in 2024?

EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville: Now we know this NFL stadium hasn't hosted a state championship game before, but let's use our imagination and envision EverBank and the City of Jacksonville taking it on. Well, can't say they're not used to hosting big events, with Jacksonville also being the host to the annual Florida-Georgia college game. Only issue with it really being in Jacksonville would be the fact it's tucked away in the northeast corner of the state. Otherwise, there's plenty of good reasons to have it in the 904.

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa: We all know now how much the Tampa Bay Buccaneers like to jump into anything with high school sports, from hosting media days to now tentatively agreeing to host the 2024 high school girls flag football state championships. Why not fire the cannons and bring states to Tampa Bay? Somewhat more centrally located than other locations and having hosted national championships and Super Bowls, other than the argument of playing on a natural grass surface and having to re-sod, we can't think of a better location than home of the 2-time world champions.

Daytona Municipal Stadium, Daytona Beach: Ah, nowhere seems to be better than being just minutes away from the beaches, right? That's what Daytona Municipal Stadium gives the players, staff and fans of every team coming to the big game. Now this venue has hosted the state championship games before and though most of the seating is on the home side of the venue, the artificial turf makes for a solid choice. If the media (like myself) had to critique the stadium, the WiFi connection really makes it difficult to fall in love with having the games back in Daytona.

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl