Re: 2009 Championships
 

yeah I hope that was a joke, as I remember it was uphill both ways to and from the pits, lol.

Re: 2009 Championships
 

I'm a large proponent of having the Championship in Las Vegas. There are numerous air and hotel packages which are ridiculously cheap, since there's the assumption that any money saved on the package will be spent gambling and/or entertainment. Even though it's a longer flight from the east coast, it's fairly easy to find comparable flight costs compared to Atlanta, Orlando or Indianapolis.

If you look at the list posted by Tom here, you'll see that Las Vegas meets all of the criteria. Plus in Vegas, you're close to guaranteed not to be having the frigid nights we've had in Atlanta the past few years.

Viva Las Vegas!

Re: 2009 Championships
 

Runaway robot carts were a major hazard on those ramps :eek: . It took so long to get back and forth, you had no pit time and some times had to work on the robot while moving.

I've never been to Vegas, only Reno. It is certainly a candidate that I think most would be happy with. I think the only oppositions would be gambling related as usual.

Re: 2009 Championships
 

Walking.
Hurt.
Alot.

Re: 2009 Championships
 

The RCA Dome in Indianapolis would be a great facility. They have the capacity to have everything under one roof with the stadium and convention center. And it's not like Indianapolis is freezing cold in April. The average high temperature for the third weekend in April is 65, compared to 74 for Atlanta. (Data from NOAA.) The real question is finding a venue that works for FIRST and that wants FIRST. There really aren't going to be that many places with a setup conducive to hosting the championships. You pretty much have to look for large domed stadiums that have considerable attached space. I love Atlanta as a venue, and I don't mind going, but moving the championships around some would not be bad.

Re: 2009 Championships
 

Some of the volunteers at MN came up with what I thought was a great idea. Have major cities bid on hosting similar to the Olympics. That would include the venue and places for celebrations.
I personally think that Minneapolis has a lot going for it. Either hosting at the U (similar to this past weekend, but also using the hockey rinks) or over near downtown with the Dome (they are all of two mi or so apart). What would really seal the deal is if we could order up a snow storm for the weekend so we could introduce all of you from the south to a nice Minnesota spring storm (we had about 6-10 inches fall yesterday!)

Re: 2009 Championships
 

Well, you got my vote! I second that. Its actually closer and cheaper for us!
Plus, you are absolutely correct about the lower costs, ability to find other things to do like win megabucks....hehe... and most of all, have a venue(s) that can accomodate this.
I'm sure the High Rollers are thinking, "Oh NO! More work for us!" :P

Re: 2009 Championships
 

The RCA dome will be a pile of rubble by this fall and replaced with even more convention space. The new Lucas Oil Stadium will be bigger and much nicer than the RCA Dome or Georgia Dome.

Add a couple of new hotels being built and a downtown entertainment area that you don't have to be afraid of your students walking in and you have a winner.

The only thing that ATL has that Indy doesn't is a great mass transit system. That could be a problem.

Re: 2009 Championships
 

I cannot think of a setup in Minneapolis or St. Paul that would provide suitable space for an event the size of the championships. The pits this weekend seemed close to full with 54 teams and there is no way to put more than one field on a basketball court like Williams Arena. Using Marriucci and Ridder instead of Williams and the Sports Pavilion would get you closer (probably super regional size), but not near the capacity required for champs. Williams and the Sports Pavilion are not connected to Marriucci and Ridder via tunnels and even with all 4 buildings I think you'd fall short.

The Metrodome would be a fine replacement for the Georgia Dome if holding Champs in Minneapolis, but it is not connected or even adjacent to another building the size of GWCC building C.

Plus if my team ever qualifies or decides to go to Champs it better be somewhere warmer than here!

Re: 2009 Championships
 

I was thinking about also using McNamara and the fieldhouse. However, you are right about not having the tunnel connections, especially in the case of a spring storm!
It is shorts weather most of the time in April, at least for most Minnesotans, but not too many others.

Re: 2009 Championships
 

Yeah, imagine everyone walking around with their robots outside on a day like yesterday, yuck!!!

Re: 2009 Championships
 

To cover the bases based on Detroit:

-venue large enough to house both 5 full playing fields plus FTC fields.
-either same or separate facility to house pits for 300+ FRC teams, 100 FTC teams, FLL teams, plus pit admin, practice fields, etc.

I know Detroit has been looked at several times and actually has 2 suitable venue combinations.

The first combination is using Cobo Hall as the pits, and using Cobo Arena and Joe Louis Arena for the fields or additional pit space. There are several other buildings attached to this, but can't remember any notable ones off the top of my head.

The other combination I heard was to use Ford Field for the Field and use Commerica Park (w/tents) for the pits.

-enough hotels in close proximity (walking distance) to house 500+ teams (students, teachers, parents, mentors) plus VIPs and staff.

Hotels would not be a problem as there are countless hotels in Downtown (including the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere) and many more in the area (including all the new hotel rooms created by last years Casino remodeling blitz.

The Finale could be held at Campus Marcius park in Downtown Detroit.

These buildings are all very close to people mover transportation and the combination can be switched around to convenience FIRST's needs.

-major international airport

Detroit Metro Airport is a Top Ten airport in North America and number 19 in the World, with just enough traffic to make it a large airport, but is big enough to handle large traffic Volumes (Example: Superbowl XL). Highway transport to and from the airport is a breeze, and other major ground transportation is available.

-enough restaurants and food places in the area to feed above mentioned people for a week.

299 Restaurants in the Greater Detroit Area according to http://detroit.diningguide.com/dl1dm.htm

-entertainment in the area to keep teams entertained at night (ie. Georgia Aquarium, Braves games, etc).

A few off the top of my head:
-Henry Ford Museum
-Greenfield Village
-Rouge Ford Factory Tour
-Many Theaters
-and hundreds of other attractions (including Dave and Busters) in the Metro Detroit Area.

Tomasz Bania

Re: 2009 Championships
 

Yabbut, you know, it's Detroit in early spring. How about San Diego? I know there is no really good venue, but it is, after all, San Diego...

Re: 2009 Championships
 

As much as i would like to see the championship be held here in vegas there is only one problem...

The convention centers are with out a doubt big enough... but there is no where for anybody to watch the actual game
We were at the IFPE expo a couple weeks ago, and the halls at the Hilton easily topped the size of where is pits are currently held and we thought "hey would'nt it be cool if the championships were here" we then came to the conclusion that the ceilings were only 100ft high at max and nobody could watch the matches.
the convention center's here are built out, not up, and there is no large arena near a convention center. There would be no room for spectators to watch the game.

And most school districts don't like when there kids go to 'vegas' (ex 25 in 06')

I like the championships in ATL, although it does get a bit cold...:)

-Keaton

Re: 2009 Championships
 

Houston was a bit of long walk with Reliant. However George R. Brown and Minute Maid Park might be a good combination. I can't really imagine the fields in a baseball stadium but it could happen.