The Fish Bowl football game is changing this year. Here’s what fans can expect in 2024
There will be changes to the next Fish Bowl rivalry football game between Peninsula High School and Gig Harbor High School, the school district announced Thursday night, Feb. 22.
They’re moving the game across the Narrows to Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, a Peninsula School District news release said, and they’re making it the first game of the season.
Instead of playing on a Friday night, the teams will face off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7.
The Peninsula School Board will vote for final approval of the location change at an upcoming school board meeting, according to the release.
“We understand that there will be challenges for some families at a farther away venue, and we look forward to seeing the plan our schools come up with to help their students and fans attend the game,” the statement said.
Just before halftime at last year’s Fish Bowl game, which took place at Roy Anderson Field, a late hit sent Gig Harbor Tides quarterback Koi Calhoun to the hospital with a broken jaw.
Coaches exchanged heated words during the break in play and tempers flared again at the post-game handshake line, made more chaotic by Gig Harbor Tides fans rushing the field to celebrate the win, the News Tribune previously reported.
Five coaches were placed on leave during an investigation after the game. Public records showed district staff were worried prior to the game that they wouldn’t have enough security.
After the events of the 2023 Fish Bowl, the school district previously told the News Tribune that they’d look at changes for future Fish Bowls, while also working to restore sportsmanship between the two schools.
Outgrowing Roy Anderson Field
Superintendent Krestin Bahr said in the district’s release: “The popularity of the Fish Bowl has outgrown Roy Anderson Field, and we want to honor this important tradition in a facility that allows our whole community to participate.”
The release said the district “will not need to limit ticket sales,” at the new venue.
Kris Hagel, a spokesperson for the district, told the Gateway via email Monday that “ticket prices will be exactly the same, we control that, and it will be just like a game at Roy Anderson.”
Hagel said that the cost to rent Mount Tahoma is still being negotiated.
“Our initial quote from Tacoma Public Schools is a little under $2,000,” he wrote.
“Mount Tahoma offers plenty of seating for all families and fans to sit together in the stands,” the release said. “Mount Tahoma’s stadium was previously used for state championship football games and is a WIAA-approved site with the capacity to seat 5,000 people.”
Other benefits of the move, according to the release, are that: “Mount Tahoma’s stadium is covered on both sides; for both the home and away teams and their bands, there will be expanded room for fans, and coaches will have individual boxes for playcalling. Football teams will have locker rooms close to the field, and both cheer teams will have space to cheer and perform stunts safely. In addition, the facility offers adequate parking, ample restrooms, and concessions.”
As for the new timing, the district’s release said: “Moving the game to a Saturday afternoon allows improved access for more of our families and community to attend the game.”
The schools will play in different divisions
The News Tribune recently reported the possibility that the two schools would play each other less often in the future as athletic directors looked toward the 2024-28 high school reclassification cycle.
Up until now, Peninsula and Gig Harbor competed in the Class 3A South Sound Conference.
Moving forward the two schools will play in separate divisions, but will keep the Fish Bowl alive.
“Our district will join the newly formed Puget Sound League, with Gig Harbor High School playing in the Narrows Division and Peninsula High School playing in the Nisqually Division,” the Feb. 22 press release said. “The Fish Bowl allows our athletes and community to play our traditional crosstown rivalry game at a championship-caliber venue.”
News Tribune archives contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 23, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
