Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

Well There is the Cradle of Aviation museum and IMAX theater within' walking distance of the Nassau Coliseum.

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

The Astrodome was the pit area in HOUSTON. Is there a stadium that could hold a Championship in San Antonio?

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

Crap. Yeah I feel like an idiot. It is actually th alamo dome. That would definetly be big nough for Championships. For some odd reason I think they use only half of it for the basketball itself. It seems very od that thy do that but that is what I heard.

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

They would be, provided the Canadians got to work their effortless organizational magic on the proceedings. They're like Oompa Loompas, they are. :D

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

IMAX?

That must have been put in after 2000.

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

Even though I like to leave Indiana when it come to competition, I think Indy is a fore-runner with Atlanta facilities. It's the "Crossroads of America"... :)
Not that I'm pushing it, but it's been mentioned numerous times, so here's a few reasons it would be a good host, for those who are less familiar with the city:

-We know the Dome is more than sufficient. (i haven't been following the news, but aren't they trying to build a new stadium in the future...)
-Check out the convention center layout and maps. They've got halls that can definitely accommodate the pits with ease... though maybe pits would be in 2 halls, that's no big deal.... it leads directly into the stadium floor.
http://www.iccrd.com/conv/diagrams.asp . Can also get to the Dome site from this page.
-They've got several internet options if needed, including wireless. Seems there's wi-fi hotspots all over town too.
-Apparently there are skywalks that connect the convention center to 7 hotels.... now that's cool.
-Says just in the downtown area, there are 5,212 hotel rooms. Hotels are in abundance in and around Indy.
-International airport 15min away. Typically prices are pretty good to/from just about anywhere, and there's plenty of airlines in/out of there.
-Downtown Indy is really safe. While there may be occasional beggers, i've not really seen it very much. It's clean, it's safe, pretty much everything is in walking distance.
-I think there's a decent bus "circulator" that makes the rounds around downtown, cheap too.
-One of the best Children's Museums in the nation (says world's largest!).
-You have the big Circle Center Mall, movie theaters, IMAX, etc.
-Indy Motor Speedway, and Indy Raceway Park
-Tons of restaurants, and within walking distance in downtown.
-Central Canal Walk - really nice area.
-Indiana State Museum
-NCAA Hall of Champions
-White River State Park (which is huge, and could even be a site for the social)
-Indy Zoo
-Conner Prairie
-Conseco Fieldhouse - NBA, WBNA (Pacers, Fever), AFL (Firebirds) used for hockey, soceer, concerts, etc.
-Victory Field (baseball)
-Verizon Music Center - concerts
-Indy Museum of Art
-War Memorial Parks all over (second largest number of memorials in the US)
-Indiana State Fairgrounds, usually year-round events.
...and more... there's plenty for people to do, and these are just the main "touristy" attractions.
-There's 6 parking garages just surrounding the Dome/CC... I see "event" parking in garages and surface lots range from $5-$15, right near the arena. That's cheaper than some parking at regionals and Atlanta.
-The traffic is almost never bad around Indy. You've got the big Indy Loop, and it's never really too bad.
-Interstates from all directions lead right into Indy.
-Indiana has strong FIRST support through it's 21 teams. Heck, it's where IRI is!!!
-And weather, in April, really isn't that bad. Sure you can have freak weather, but it's been pretty great weather... actually I think this April was pretty warm.
-Monument Circle would be a cool place for a webhug... hmm.

Traffic and roads would be a reason I'd nix Chicago and Detroit, esp if you're not staying within walking distance to the arena. Traffic can be a complete nightmare in and out of the cities, esp on weekdays. Finding your way around Indy is easy, and downtown things are well marked. Parking garages, last I knew, were still really cheap... at least on non-event days. On a weekend for shopping was only a couple bucks for the whole day. (that could have changed). It's one of those "smaller, big cities".

With all that said... I still like Atlanta, as it's worked out pretty well from what I can tell. I might venture to say Indy has more immediate area things to do, within a 1-2mi radius. And it's relatively centrally located. I agree it's tough on those western teams to travel far all the time, but until a solid, sufficient venue can be acquired, they might be outta luck for close proximity.

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

I'm liking that idea :)

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

Dean Simmons and the Kamens! We could fill the place! The concert could be a FIRST Fundraiser *


*10% to the band manager, of course

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

The is a countless numbr of things to do in Atlanta.

There is the CNN center.
Coming soon is one of the largest aquariums in the world
Underground atlanta
Many malls. A little bit out is the Mall of Georgia which is the largest mall in the southeast
6 Flags
American Adventrues
Atlanta Motor Speedway
World of Coke
Centennial park
Hawks (we are coming back)
The amazing Braves
Lenoxx Square
Buckhead
These are just a few I can think of off the top of my head. If you can't find something to do in atlanta you are not looking.Atlanta is a very large city when it comes to tourism.

And there is no need to worry about safety in Atlanta if you travel in groups. That is a relatively safe part of the city. Plus, most people travel together when walking from hotel to competition and back.

I guess it would be pretty cool to go to the NCAA hall of fame though.

Why are the homeless 'bad'?
 

I don't understand what everyone is talking about in regards to safety. I walked around a fair bit and saw nothing to be concerned with.

With people asking you for change, what is so scary about them? I've NEVER had someone curse me or threaten me after they asked me for change, so I wonder where you find all these scary mean people.


Wetzel

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

There certainly is plenty to do in Atlanta (not that people every have that much time in the first place). But depending on where you're staying, some of it isn't within a 1-2mi walking radius... :)
I don't think safety is a huge concern there either. There are some areas that seem sketchy, but it's all pretty good. It'll be interesting to see if it remains there... it's been a good venue.. I like it, anyways.. except for the 13hr bus ride.. :)

They can be the next stars from the corn state.. :) Throw a little change my way, friend....

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

While our team is happy to have the Championship’s in our area we certainly understand others wanting them near their home. Amy’s suggestion of Indianapolis is the first one that I have seen that has an enclosed dome next to a convention center like here in Atlanta.

The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) is the 4th largest convention facility in the USA. There are more than 10,500 hotel rooms within walking distance (source atlantadowntown.com). That appears to be about twice the rooms of Indianapolis downtown area per Amy’s statistics. The floors of the RCA Dome and the Georgia Dome have close to the same amount of space. GA has 102,000 sq. ft. and RCA has 95,000. The GWCC building C, level 1 that the pits were in this year has 418,500 sq. ft. It appears that almost all were happy with the new location this year. I am not sure about available space in IN or availability of covered walkways from the pits to the RCA Dome. The weather in April typically will be warmer in Atlanta but as Amy said, freak weather could hit either area. If was of course kind of chilly here on Saturday night this year.

Does the IN facilities have a large food court close by similar to CNN Center in Atlanta, to obtain lower priced and a wide variety of food? What type of mass transit is available in IN to get people around and to and from the airport? As most know, Atlanta has the Marta rail service including to the airport. I know that some enjoyed going to a major league baseball game here this year. About 80 percent of the U.S. population is within a two-hour flight of Atlanta. Does the IN facilities have large grassy areas to gather in, throw a frisbee or football, or have a web hug as Atlanta does? :)

About one month ago it was announced that "Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot, plans to invest up to $150 million in the state-owned Georgia Dome. While a big reason is to help the city land the Super Bowl all who use the dome will benefit. Mr. Blank said "But the reality is that if we don't get the bid, this is the right thing to do for Atlanta and our community."

Also, late this year Atlanta's new aquarium will open. This should help address some concerns about things to do in downtown Atlanta. Thanks to a generous gift from Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot, the Georgia Aquarium will be one of the largest and most exciting aquariums in the world, featuring more than 55,000 animals from 500 different species in over 5 million gallons of water. The Georgia Aquarium is located in downtown Atlanta, next to the new World of Coca-Cola, and across the street from CNN Center, the Georgia World Congress Center, Centennial Olympic Park and “Imagine It!”, Atlanta’s Children’s Museum.

One item that I have not seen mentioned is an assumption I am making but very confident in. That assumption is that the State Of Georgia very likely gives “First” a VERY substantial discount on the rental of the GA Dome and GWCC. If that is correct, would other venues offer the same to First?

While none of the suggestions made here will likely have any influence on the people deciding years 2007 and beyond, it is fun to talk about it. The bottom line is that we love having it here in Atlanta. However Indianapolis may be a good choice or perhaps Toronto? I have been to Toronto and it is a beautiful city. However the Toronto weather this year during the finals was 34-55 degrees F. For all we know someone in “First” may have already decided!

I am in no way trying to say that Atlanta is better than IN or any others. I just wanted to state the facts about ATL and find out more about other potential locations.

Dave

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

Someone suggested Long Beach Convention Center and Sports Arena. That complex is a covered sports arena next to a convention center. I don't know about covered walkways, though.

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

I have read a good majority of all the responses to this thread, and though there was a good piece of resistance to Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick (Mayor of Detroit) needs a reason to work harder and spend city money wisely. ;) Besides that, there are other considerable reasons I should list, even though some may have been mentioned before.

• Home of the 'big 3' automakers: GM, Chrysler, Ford, etc.
• By the time the championship event comes, and if the lockout is over by then, teams and their members will have the opportunity to watch Detroit Red Wings playoff hockey.
• You can watch the tigers, but only if you REALLY like baseball. Otherwise, its up to you about that.
• Probably the most important reason of all: 45 minute drive from my home to the event. My Grandmother lives even closer. I'd love to get my family to see Nationals and FIRST in its full glory. (and what I've been up to getting involved with FIRST, and not just my local robotics team.)
• Even more important: Michigan is 2nd to California (I think) in number of teams. (Yet again, that's second. Twist the statistics whichever way you wish.)

I mean, we've been going to Florida, Texas, and Georgia for the past 3-4 years; Michigan teams have followed. That ends my 3 cents.

-Joe

Re: Championships location from 07 and onwards
 

You know, I partially posted all that Indy information to see how many would follow suit to explain why THEIR city would be a good choice. Many have mentioned cities, but haven't really covered all the basis for holding a FIRST championship.

Dave - great post. As for hotel rooms, here's what else I could dig up at the moment. Looks like there are 31 hotels within the 5mi radius of downtown, 20 of them, with 5200 rooms, are within 1.5mi of the Dome, 7 of which are directly connected to the CC... There would also be a number of teams from Indiana (that typically attend) that wouldn't have to stay overnight in Indy.
Actually, the way I read your source of 10,500 rooms is that it's within walking distance "of facilities and major attractions", not necessarily just the Georgia Dome, so I wonder what the distance of all those rooms are.
-64,000 parking spaces in downtown Indy... within walking distance... Some stats: http://www.indydt.com/parking.html

The White River State Park I mentioned, perfect place for Social and webhug... It's a lot larger than Centennial Park as far as grounds, so they could easily pick an area and do it. It includes many of the attractions I listed, accessible from it's grounds. Plus, I think it's basically right across from the Dome and they hold tons of events and rent it out. www.inwhiteriver.org
Also, monument circle (down the street) would be a neat place for a webhug. It's a big monument right in the center of downtown, with a relatively large stepped, fountain, meeting area surrounding it, with brick road roundabout going around it.

The CC and Dome are directly connected, per their map in the link I gave. So, though I've not actually walked those paths, I'm sure they're similar to that of Georgia. Looks to me like it's covered walkway between the buildings. The available space is huge, with like 6 halls all in the same building. That link showed the sq footage, and actually said how many 10x10 "booths" it can hold per hall.

The food court is something I'd have to check too. The only one I'm relatively aware of is the one in Circle Center Mall and seems there's something calls City Market, but it's not quite as big as the CNN center, esp seating. However, there are tons of restaurants/fast foods all in that area, which is something I think there's more of than in Georgia (at least in the immediate area). But, I'm not sure what the convention center has as far as food courts. I did read about catering and such, but I dont' know how that works.

Don't have a clue about discounting of facilities in Indy. That's something that, since it hasn't been held here, I don't think we would know. FIRST would have to tell us if they knew, and I doubt they feel the need to tell us that.
As far as I could tell, it would seem like timing in April would be open in Indy, as I hadn't seen any other big conventions going on during that timeframe the last couple years.

I'll see if I can come up with some other info.. :)
Interesting note - more than half the nations population lives within a day's drive of Indy.. And more interstate segments intersect with Indy than any other metro area in the US. 24 airlines into the airport. Regarding transportation out of the airport, it's only 10mi to downtown. Hmmm.. it does say Amtrak is available from downtown to airport.. I don't think I've been in many "downtowns" that are easy to drive through as Indy.

A few events the CC and Dome have hosted: NFL action of course, Closing ceremonies for Pan-American Games, World indoor track/field championships, world gymnastics champs, NCAA Final Four Mens (3 times already), Women's Final Four this year, and Mens again in '06 and '10, the Black Expo Convenction (every year?). In general, there's the Indy 500 and Nascar every year!

If it were in Indy, it could be more financially effective for teams to travel on the ground. Southern states, Canada, MI, WI, Eastern states, midwestern states, and a few western states (not quite CA)... many of those fly now. Some would be a long bus ride, but it could save them airfare costs, potentially.

So, people, why should it come to your city?? We need substantial, basis-covered, information... Just because there's a Dome, or convention center, doesn't make it a good place. See what you can dig up on your own city... :)

And, just because a state has the most number of teams doesn't make it the best place to hold it... Not all those teams compete at championships... course, they could attend to watch.... so, what else you got? Let's seem some nice, fun debates on this... :p
I don't think anyone argues Atlanta can host the FIRST event well. What different cities?