[swva_sports]

Who’s your top 5?

[Shogun]

My personal favorite, not necessarily what I consider the "nicest":

1. Belfry
2. Somerset
3. Bell County
4. Corbin
5. Breathitt County

[Spud6]

I’ve not been to a lot but Corbin’s atmosphere and stadium I really liked. I like Belfry’s but away side bleachers is too small. Ashlands is sweet.

That’s about all the ones that I’ve been to and really felt like it was a cool place to play.

[bucslover68]

No particular order.

Belfry
Bell
JC
Breathitt
Ashland

[Corbin]

I'm bias but Corbin has to be up there. It was already one of the best but now that they are currently re-doing the visitor side and making a big fancy press box, it will really make it pop. I would brick in the home side facade to where it's all uniform instead of just the white paint. I understand for historic purposes but it's nicer than many colleges.

[pirateforlife]

In my opinion and may sound like a homer but a big game atmosphere at Belfry is one of the best football environments you can get in Kentucky. Beautiful campus and stadium and the atmosphere is electric.

[Shogun]

I’ve not been to a lot but Corbin’s atmosphere and stadium I really liked. I like Belfry’s but away side bleachers is too small. Ashlands is sweet.

That’s about all the ones that I’ve been to and really felt like it was a cool place to play.

I didn't think about the tri-state but yeah if Ashland is included then that's a contender for #1 on my list.

[pirateforlife]

Floyd Central has a beautiful stadium too just not a great atmosphere for games

[Old School Hound]

I've been to a lot of games at the U of the Cumberlands and Corbin's stadium is way, way nicer.

[Old School Hound]

I'm expecting Corbin's new complex to be packed for the Pigskin. Linton-Stockton has a quality program and a very passionate fanbase. Linton put a 40-burger on Indiana powerhouse , Indianapolis Lutheran, ending Lutheran's 12 game winning streak and their season in 2025. I'm hearing Linton may bring a few hundred fans to Corbin for this classic. Should be a dandy. If you can get to Corbin for the Pigskin, this one will be a good one to watch.

[Hi Risk Warrior]

North Laurel & South Laurel have got as nice a set up and facilities as anyone IMO. There is beginning
to be not many really BAD facilities left around S. E. KY. as there used to be.

[plantmanky]

Hazard

[Spud6]

I’ve not been to a lot but Corbin’s atmosphere and stadium I really liked. I like Belfry’s but away side bleachers is too small. Ashlands is sweet.

That’s about all the ones that I’ve been to and really felt like it was a cool place to play.

I didn't think about the tri-state but yeah if Ashland is included then that's a contender for #1 on my list.

I guess Ashland isn’t necessarily the mountains but I’ve always associated Ashland as close by lol

[BlackcatAlum]

Don’t sleep on Knott Co Central’s new stadium.

It was beautiful over there last season.

[TheTruth!]

Floyd Central has a beautiful stadium too just not a great atmosphere for games

I remember going to the first home game they had there. It was beautiful and packed!

[Old School 18]

1. Corbin
2. Somerset
3. Pikeville
4. Harlan County
5. Shelby Valley
Haven’t seen Belfrys place or JC’s

[i82much]

I’ve not been to a lot but Corbin’s atmosphere and stadium I really liked. I like Belfry’s but away side bleachers is too small. Ashlands is sweet.

That’s about all the ones that I’ve been to and really felt like it was a cool place to play.

I didn't think about the tri-state but yeah if Ashland is included then that's a contender for #1 on my list.

I guess Ashland isn’t necessarily the mountains but I’ve always associated Ashland as close by lol

"Mountain" is definitely a relative term and arguably mountains in Kentucky are at best a stretch so it is hard to pinpoint what schools should be included in the conversation. I've only been to Corbin once and I was impressed. Putnam Stadium in Ashland is super cool and the history surrounding it is rich. Walking into Putnam and looking down at the field just feels different. No track to deal with and a bowl or horseshoe type environment is rare in high school. Those are my two picks if both are considered mountain schools. Given, I haven't been to a lot of the schools that I would consider in the mountains so I mean no disrespect to any other contenders.

[Strikeout King]

Estill has a really nice stadium

[Tailback44]

Corbin, Harlan Co, Breathitt, Somerset, and Perry Central.

[Strikeout King]

Can we get pics of all these stadiums?

[HCS]

I’ve not been to a lot but Corbin’s atmosphere and stadium I really liked. I like Belfry’s but away side bleachers is too small. Ashlands is sweet.

That’s about all the ones that I’ve been to and really felt like it was a cool place to play.

I didn't think about the tri-state but yeah if Ashland is included then that's a contender for #1 on my list.

I guess Ashland isn’t necessarily the mountains but I’ve always associated Ashland as close by lol

"Mountain" is definitely a relative term and arguably mountains in Kentucky are at best a stretch so it is hard to pinpoint what schools should be included in the conversation. I've only been to Corbin once and I was impressed. Putnam Stadium in Ashland is super cool and the history surrounding it is rich. Walking into Putnam and looking down at the field just feels different. No track to deal with and a bowl or horseshoe type environment is rare in high school. Those are my two picks if both are considered mountain schools. Given, I haven't been to a lot of the schools that I would consider in the mountains so I mean no disrespect to any other contenders.

Courier Journal used to define mountains as regions 13, 14 and 15. That's an easy boundary to remember.

[BEChargers]

I've always thought Harlan Co was very cool. Going across that bridge back into that holler. Loved watching a game there.

[King Kong]

Seeing at how there was once talk of doing away with the football program and turning the stadium into a parking lot, I gotta go with JCs stadium here.  

A true testimony to people who had a vision along with determination and commitment.  That's what I see when I look at the stadium.

[Old School Hound]

Personally, I'd sacrifice all the pretty bells and whistles for one gd title in ther last four decades. Corbin is all about aesthetics. Always have been. As long as its's pretty on the outside, they don't care about being rotten to the core. I hope they truly let Salmons do his thing and see if he can get them off the 43 year schnide. Too many rotten apples in Corbin.

[DangerMouse]

Somerset on the way to being one of the nicest. They do have some things that really need attention.

The bleachers really need an overhaul. The visiting side I have always thought needed an expansion in width and maybe a smaller coaches box on that side would be as useful as anything to cut down on traffic in the press box.

The home side is massive but I’m not convinced it’s to code. They should update that as well as Russell County did.

Once the new field house is completed and if they could raise the money for the bleachers to be redone, it would give Corbin a run for their money. I’ll be ever interested to see the final product. I’m unsure if the bleachers are even being considered so a Somerset insider could give that info.

Until that’s done, Corbin is the standard. Someone said Hazard. That’s another one that should get high praise. I can’t say much about Belfry as I’ve only been past the stadium and not watched a game there. I hope the new coaching staff can keep that program trending in the direction it has under Coach Haywood.

[pirateforlife]

Somerset on the way to being one of the nicest. They do have some things that really need attention. 

The bleachers really need an overhaul. The visiting side I have always thought needed an expansion in width and maybe a smaller coaches box on that side would be as useful as anything to cut down on traffic in the press box.

The home side is massive but I’m not convinced it’s to code. They should update that as well as Russell County did.

Once the new field house is completed and if they could raise the money for the bleachers to be redone, it would give Corbin a run for their money. I’ll be ever interested to see the final product. I’m unsure if the bleachers are even being considered so a Somerset insider could give that info.

Until that’s done, Corbin is the standard. Someone said Hazard. That’s another one that should get high praise. I can’t say much about Belfry as I’ve only been past the stadium and not watched a game there. I hope the new coaching staff can keep that program trending in the direction it has under Coach Haywood.

If you’re wanting to attend a game at Belfry I’d recommend attending the Pike County Bowl or the Pikeville game. And although Coach Haywood will be missed tremendously and he won’t be replaced, to say the coaching staff is new is incorrect. Every coach on the staff has been there a while including a few who were on the staff in 2004 when Belfry won its first state title including the head coach

[Runrunrun]

If Ashland is considered mountains then it’s Putnam Stadium and everywhere else. There isn’t a better environment anywhere when the Tomcats play a big game. From the bowl shaped stadium to the Tomcats entrance down the center steps. I’m definitely not a fan but it’s really good. I’m lucky my kid won more than he lost there against the tomcats