something to make nats awsome
 

Couple of hundred hot tubs in the parking lot.

Re: something to make nats awsome
 

:cool:

That's a good idea. :D

Re: something to make nats awsome
 

With Private Tents for each :D *shifty eyes*

chum (like for sharks)
 

What makes you think those seats will be empty? I don't recall ever seeing an empty seat in the finals at nationals in the past, why should it be any different now?

Re: chum (like for sharks)
 

Because the Reliant park has 4x the amount of seating than of Epcot's Nats. :)

Forgive the twisted syntax, I know not whence it came.
 

But does Houston not have well over four times the number of people than a certain Florida swamp does? I'm betting that this tournament will have a much higher attendance than anything we ever saw at Disney. Whether we fill it remains to be seen, but I'm looking forward to being pleasantly surprised, that is, if it is possible for one to look forward to such a thing.

Re: Forgive the twisted syntax, I know not whence it came.
 

That's what I'm really interested in seeing.

In Walt Disney World, everyone was on vacation. If they eyed this event village off to Epcot's side, they might investigate it. They weren't late for a meeting, or late to dinner, or trying to make it to a doctor's appointment. They were out looking for things to entertain them. I think that this is a conducive environment to drawing people in to see what FIRST is all about. It doesn't require a commitment, it doesn't interfere with other commitments and it's fun and interesting to watch.

In Houston, while the overall population may exceed the number of people on Walt Disney World property at any given time (by lots and lots, even), all of those millions have lives to attend to. They may drive by Reliant Park and see the huge banners, or the inflatable robot towering over I-610. . . but, is that going to be enough to get them to stop in and see what's going on? Is there enough incentive for them to go home, round up their family, and come back?

Whereas in Walt Disney World, people are seeking leisure, and FIRST is an easy sell, I think an event in Houston or anyplace else that doesn't cater toward entertainment exclusively requires a considerably larger effort in getting the uninvolved to attend.

Maybe it will draw in more people. Who knows. That is my concern, though. In either case, I don't think it's going to draw in enough people to fill that stadium, and it may end up being a lonely, desolate place.

About Houston...I see another enormous advantage .. something we here at Philly know how to do- Tailgating!

Also- the fields are inside, correct? How are we going to fit 280 some teams? I know that Veterans stadium here couldn't hold 280+ teams and five fields, not to mention all of the cables and stuff..

Re: Please help make the Nationals in Houston AWESOME ... You be the Tournament Director
 

Okay a few things about the original post.

1. While it would be nice to invite everyone like we have in past years it would be almost to chaotic for everyone. Just imagine the scouting! I know people will say you only have to scout the teams in your division but if you plan on going further you should scout the top seeded teams in other events also.

2. Running the matches longer and keeping the pits open longer would be a nice thing. The only problem with this is the fact that after a "normal" day at Nats I, and most of my team, are so tired of thinking we just want to veg. Also its not healthy to be working much longer. As it is most teams at Nats don't go to bed 'til midnight, whether from socializing or from strategizing.

Personally I have no idea what we should do about Nats in houston but I trust FIRST and I'm sure everything, well almost everything, they have thought out.

~SHANA~

Re: Forgive the twisted syntax, I know not whence it came.
 

If the event is not a football game or similar event, I would not expect a lot of Houstonians to come out to watch, even if the event is publicized on local TV. Even if 10,000 local non-participants are there at any one time to watch, the 80,000 seat or whatever it is stadium will be less than half full. But so what? There will be plenty of people making more than enough noise to generate the requisite level of excitement.

I personally like Walt Disney World, probably more so than most long-term FIRST'ers, at least of the adult variety, but I think the change will be good. I would expect the viewing of matches to be much better than at the Einstein field at Epcot, as it is at the regionals held in basketball arenas. Also, if they can get all the playing fields in the AstroDome, we would be spared the all-day sun that is part of watching and scouting matches at Einstein. It will be hard to come up with as good of transportation as you have at WDW staying at an on-site hotel, but I suspect that FIRST has figured out something that will get the job done adequately. While FIRST may not be perfect, they have had a pretty good record over the years of "doing their homework."

The Championship may be at Houston for one year and then return to WDW, or it may be at neither place in '04. Who knows? The bottom line is that we all need to go into the '03 event with the attitude that a "change of scenery" can be good. Houston is where we are going, and we need to approach it with a positive attitude and do our part to make it a great event.

I would like to see some local teams helping other teams to be more familiar with the city. Simple handouts of where some of the great local restaurants are would be nice... location and store hours of local hardware stores would definitely be appeciated.


How about telling teams where they can join a tour to Houston's NASA? Are there tours over there like NASA Kennedy Space Center at Florida?

You guys are going to the space base, i dunno what to call it, Flight command post, that sounds good. I bet alot of teams will do that, but i don't know how interesting that will actually be.

... and local dance clubs for 18 year olds..... transportation guides..... directions to the nearest Hard Rock Cafe!!!