Officials: Prep football championship crowds close to 30,000

DEKALB, Ill. (AP) - Officials in DeKalb say they believe almost 30,000 people attended last weekend's state high school football championship games in spite of cold, wet weather.

Wendy West-Krauch is the Illinois High School Association community chairwoman in DeKalb. She told The Daily Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1MZXG1W ) in DeKalb that rain on Friday might have cut into attendance and that the area designated as the "spirit zone" for fans was swamped.

But she said otherwise the two days' worth of games went off smoothly. Official attendance figures are expected soon.

The games were played at Northern Illinois University.

University spokesman Brad Hoey said plans for the 2017 title games are being worked on. He said those plans will include better weather-proofing for the grounds.

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Information from: The Daily Chronicle, http://www.daily-chronicle.com