It should be exciting. It will definitely be a first, and maybe the start of a new tradition.

All five high school football championship games will be played at the University of Wyoming on Friday and Saturday. The Wyoming High School Activities Association approved the move on a one-year trial basis.

That isn't much time to judge whether it's a success or not. Previously, teams each of the five classifications have earned hosting duties by winning their conferences.

With all of the games at one site, attendance will depend on factors beyond anyone's control, including how far teams and their fans have to travel to Laramie and what kind of weather they will encounter. Because any of the four seasons are likely to occur during a November game at War Memorial Stadium -- and sometimes all of them show up -- it should prove interesting. Bring your blankets and your sun-tan lotion.

There are certainly things some people will miss about the traditional arrangement, including home-field advantage. It was also exciting to watch an entire small town gather to cheer for their local favorite. A town's entire contingent may not even take up a good-sized corner of War Memorial.

But having the championships at a neutral site levels the playing field for both teams, so to speak. The stadium should be in great shape. And we don't know what better incentive there could be for high school athletes than the chance to compete at the top level of their classifications in the biggest football venue the entire state has to offer.

We like the idea for a selfish reason, too. It has sometimes been difficult to get sports reporters and photographers to all of the various championship sites around Wyoming. Some may say we've been spoiled by having the state basketball and wrestling tournaments at the Casper Events Center, but it's definitely an advantage for our staff, and one that we think translates into better coverage for our readers.

The UW experiment will give us a chance to try some new things, too. On Friday and Saturday, we'll have live, streaming audio coverage of all five games -- just go to trib.com and click on Tribcast. Wyoming's legendary sportscaster George Kay will call the games in a radio-style format, and Star-Tribune Managing Editor and Online News Director Ron Gullberg will provide color commentary.

Laramie has been eager to host the football championships for some time. Thanks to growth in recent years, the city now has a large number of hotel rooms available to accommodate the crowds likely to travel to the games.

The event may pay other dividends. UW's coaches will have the opportunity to see what the high school players can do in championship games without having to travel to five different communities. They may see some athletes they weren't familiar with who could one day wind up wearing UW's brown and gold.

And it will give high school players and fans who have never visited the University of Wyoming a taste of what college life is like. That certainly can't hurt student recruitment efforts.

Whether UW becomes the permanent football championship site will probably largely be decided on gate receipts. But even if bad weather holds back the crowds this year, it should be given another year or two to see if it will prove to be an advantageous move for the WHSAA.