A television occurrence that hasn't been seen in a decade will take football fans to another level.

Tomorrow's state high school football championships will be shown live for the first time since 1998, and hoping to cash in are cash-strapped high school athletic programs statewide.

The telecast of the Division I final between Kamehameha and Kahuku and the Division II final between Kaua'i and 'Iolani from Aloha Stadium will be shown live on pay-per-view.

Nationwide, few, if any high school games are offered on pay-per-view. Though states such as Hawai'i and California have televised high school sports, most markets did not tap into pay-per-view until the past two years.

"In coming up with this pay-per-view plan, we're trying to balance the interests of everyone involved, including schools' need for revenue, the desire to maximize attendance, and the exposure to as wide an audience as possible," said Keith Amemiya, Hawai'i High School Athletic Association executive director.

Previous state title games were shown only on taped delay — usually the next day — by OC16, which is producing tomorrow night's games as it has other high school events for 21 years.

The only other time a high school football champion was made available on pay-per-view was in 1998 when Saint Louis and Kahuku — both nationally ranked — played in the O'ahu Prep Bowl, then considered the mythical state championship.

That game generated $100,000 in sales for Oceanic, while the public-school O'ahu Interscholastic Association and private-school Interscholastic League of Honolulu received $30,000 from Oceanic.

Revenue from this year's games — to be determined by the amount of pay-per-view and ticket sales — will be shared by all schools that have a football program. The HHSAA will get 25 percent of what the schools take in.

The decision to broadcast the games live did not come easily. The biggest concern was whether a live broadcast would hurt gate receipts, especially since football is the HHSAA's biggest revenue generator. Attendance at last year's state championships neared 26,000, the largest in tournament's 10-year history.

But pay-per-view, an idea pitched by Oceanic Cable, offered a creative option to navigate through a time when athletic programs are asked to cut back on spending and when budgets have diminished.

The pay-per-view option is $29.95 for O'ahu residents and $14.95 for Neighbor Island viewers if purchased today. Prices will increase tomorrow.

Admission at Aloha Stadium is $12 for adults and $5 for students.

Pricing for pay-per-view was a big concern. Dave Vinton, director of OC16 sports, said it couldn't have been too expensive that it would turn off viewers, or so cheap that HHSAA wouldn't generate revenue.

"Although we certainly want to maximize revenue, on the other hand we want to make sure we maximize attendance and support for our student-athletes as well," Amemiya said.

Vinton said one thing after another started falling into place, and a plan was finalized at the end of summer.

As for attendance, Kamehameha coach David Stant said he's heard of alumni flying in for the game.

"We're just really excited to be here," Kaua'i coach Derek Borrero said. "For us, coming from Kaua'i, it's like a bowl game for us."

Kahuku, which is playing in its first title game since 2006, has always drawn a strong following wherever and whenever it plays.

This year's telecast will be a trial run. The contract between the HHSAA and Oceanic is in its final year.

Oceanic did not have preliminary figures on sales. But based on inquiries, Vinton already sees an interest — particularly in the live webcast that is being offered for $10. He emphasized the production is not about making money for the station.

"We hope we're doing a service for the people of Hawai'i and fans of Hawai'i football," Vinton said. "That's our emphasis, to put our kids on the best stage possible. We have a lot of fun doing it. We hope they have fun watching it."