Football state championships may return to Orlando after FHSAA's negotiations with Daytona Beach fall through

It appears the newly minted "Drive to December" may end in Orlando, after all.

The FHSAA's football playoffs were supposed to end this fall with state championship games at Daytona Beach's Municipal Stadium, which had beat out Orlando's Camping World Stadium (formerly the Citrus Bowl) in the most recent bidding process.

A statement by the FHSAA the morning of May 25 (see below) indicates that the two sides — the FHSAA and the City of Daytona Beach — were unable to come to an agreement within the 30-day negotiating window. Per the statement, legal wording in certain portions of the contracts and unforeseen expenses that the host party would be responsible for were among the items that prevented the negotiations from coming to fruition.

Now, the FHSAA will begin a 30-day negotiation window with the Central Florida Sports Commission, on whose behalf Campus World Stadium was bid. Originally, when the FHSAA selected Daytona Beach over Orlando, scheduling conflicts with other events designated to Camping World Stadium was noted as among the chief deciding factors.

The two sides will now have 30 days to iron out those scheduling issues and, if successful, the newly-renovated stadium will once again play host to the final high school football games of the year in Florida.