Red Carpet Bowl shifts schedule, venues over heat concerns

For the second year in a row, the Red Carpet Bowl is taking a heat timeout.

The game’s organizing committee and the Vicksburg Warren School District announced Thursday that the annual football doubleheader on Aug. 30 will be played at two separate sites and have a later start time because of concerns about excessive heat.

High temperatures are forecast to be in the upper 90s through the end of next week. VWSD athletics director James Lewis said the decision was made now to provide enough time for organizers, teams and fans to adjust their plans.

“It was just a collective effort, a collective decision for the safety of the kids,” Lewis said. “This week, temperatures have been relatively cooler than they have been. If you look at next week’s they’ll spike right back up. It’s precautionary measures for our kids and safety concerns. That’s pretty much it. The same factors we looked at last year.”

Vicksburg had been scheduled to play Holmes County Central at 5:30 p.m. at Warren Central. The game will now be played at Vicksburg’s Memorial Stadium and have a 7:30 kickoff.

Warren Central and Clinton will still play at WC’s Viking Stadium, but will begin at 7:30 p.m. instead of 8.
Tickets will cost $10 and will only be good at one game or the other. They can be purchased through GoFan.co .

The Red Carpet Bowl is a non-profit organization that funds nearly a dozen $1,000 scholarships for students at all four of Warren County’s high schools.

Founded in 1962, the Red Carpet Bowl has been played — or at least planned — as a doubleheader since 1992, but this is the fifth time in seven years that external factors have caused major changes to its format.

In 2018, lightning brought an early end to the first game between Warren Central and Oxford and led to the cancellation of the second between Vicksburg and Clarksdale. The following year, thunderstorms delayed the start of the first game by about 30 minutes.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizers to cancel the originally-scheduled games and make the season-opening Vicksburg vs. Warren Central match-up the Red Carpet Bowl.

Then, in 2023 and now 2024, concerns about excessive heat scrapped plans for the single-site doubleheader. Last summer, the Red Carpet Bowl was among a number of early-season games in Mississippi in 2023 that had later start times because of a record-setting heat wave.

“That’s just Mississippi weather,” Red Carpet Bowl treasurer Lester Tzotzolas said.

Travis Wayne Vance, a longtime Red Carpet Bowl committee member, echoed Lewis in saying that the decision was made with safety in mind.

“God controls the weather,” Vance said. “We’re not going to jeopardize the youth to get out here and play football. We’re not going to jeopardize their health because of the Red Carpet Bowl.”

Lewis noted that this week’s temperatures, which have been in the lower 90s, likely would have allowed the games to go on as scheduled. A few degrees more, though, is enough to push players into the danger zone.

“It can make the world of difference to a kid. As regular citizens we’re looking at it from how we feel, but we don’t have on a helmet, shoulder pads, or any protective gear which also insulates those kids and raises their body temperature,” Lewis said. “If the temperature is 98, you add six degrees for the turf and the equipment and you’re getting into that 105 range that’s dangerous.”

Lewis also wanted to remind fans of the VWSD’s new clear bag policy that is going into effect this school year.
Under the policy, any bags brought into the stadium must be made of clear plastic and no bigger than 12-by-6 inches. The guidelines are similar to those in place at all college and pro stadiums around the country.

The only bags that will be allowed to be brought into events are one-gallon clear plastic zipper bags; a clear plastic bag with a handle that cannot exceed 12 inches deep, and 12-by-6 inches wide; and a clutch or wallet measuring no bigger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches.

Exceptions will be made for medically necessary items, although those bags will be physically inspected. Diaper bags are also allowed if accompanied by a child.

All bags are subject to physical and visual inspection. A complete guide to the policy can be found on the school district’s web site, vwsd.org .

“Please look at it, please analyze it,” Lewis said. “Hopefully that will save them a lot of time at the gate and a lot of frustration from having to walk back to their cars and take something back that’s not permissible based on our policy.”