RENTON — The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) has approved three sites in Pierce County to host the 2019 WIAA Football State Championships.

State championship games had been previously held at the Kingdome and, beginning in 1995, the Tacoma Dome. But rising costs and a negative response to the Tacoma Dome’s new seat configuration led the WIAA to pursue other options.

The three locations selected are Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma (1B, 4A), Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood (2B, 1A) and Sparks Stadium in Puyallup (2A, 3A). The games will be played at noon and 4 p.m. on Dec. 7 at each site.

The three stadiums are 13 miles apart, enabling fans to see multiple games in a day. A ticket purchased for any of the three locations will be valid to enter all of them.

“The mission of the WIAA staff and Executive Board was to find three locations that were close in proximity to each other and could handle the needs of a WIAA State Championship,” said WIAA Executive Director Mick Hoffman. “We are grateful for each of the site managers who made these great stadiums available as we believe they will provide a terrific atmosphere for the biggest games of the year.”

The WIAA will also allow for a championship game to be played in central or eastern Washington if the two schools are from a similar geographic area and can agree upon a neutral WIAA-approved stadium.