By MADDY VITALE
The Battle at the Beach, an annual football showcase, features three days of play by some of the top high school teams in the region.
And for the last three years, the games have been played at Ocean City High School’s Carey Stadium.
But the event is moving to Atlantic City for the 2024 edition.
Ocean City has hosted the event, which features 12 games played over three days. It is sponsored by the West Jersey Football Coaches Association.
On Tuesday, the Atlantic City Board of Education approved the event coming to their school. The Battle at the Beach will be played there Aug. 29-31, according to an article in the Courier Post. Shay Steele, president of the Atlantic City Board of Education, could not be reached for comment.
Ocean City head football coach Kevin Smith explained some of the reasons why the event was moved, and it had everything to do with logistics.
“The Battle at the Beach (BATB) is moving because the first week of the football season comes late this year. It falls on Labor Day, which creates a conflict for the city,” Smith said Wednesday. “Traditionally, there are football games from Philly-area Catholic league teams at Carey Stadium over Labor Day. The logistics of trying to hold the Catholic League games and the Battle at the Beach games, while also handling the normal Labor Day crowd that comes to town was something the city felt it couldn’t manage.”
Michael Allegretto, aide to Mayor Jay Gillian, said of the city’s decision, “Certainly, we did everything to accommodate it. But we had a longer relationship with the Catholic schools and we couldn’t make it work with different days and we had to make a decision.”
Smith said that the West Jersey Football League wanted to keep the event in Ocean City and even pitched some ideas on how it could be possible for both the Battle at the Beach and the Catholic leagues to play.
“But the city felt doing both was too much and was obligated to accommodate the Philly teams. So, they passed on BATB,” Smith said.
The annual three-day event attracted fans from throughout the state to watch their favorite teams play. And while it brought visitors to town, which was good for the merchants on the island, it was just not feasible with the later start to the football season falling in line with the busy holiday weekend, officials noted.
Smith said that ultimately, he wishes the showcase could have stayed in Ocean City.
“It’s a shame the city couldn’t find a solution because BATB could be an incredible marketing opportunity if the city decided to invest in it. It also served as the biggest fundraiser for our football program, which means we’ll lose out on that opportunity this year,” he said. “There are some indications the city would like to bring the event back next year, but that’s in the hands of the league now. If Atlantic City does a good job with it, I’d imagine the league will keep the event there.”
