Originally Posted by Joe Matt (Post 729199)

NO!

Just because it's close to you doesn't make it better!

I think I can speak for a lot of people, if I'm walking around a lot outside to-from hotel and between various other places, I'M NOT DOING IT IN THE COLD. End of story. Same with rain. I'd love to see them move to someplace up north and have everyone comlpain about the high being 50, finally putting this issue to bed. Hell, I'd STOP GOING if moving around champs would make me feel terrible.

Atlanta is perfect (except for the crime, oops) with the weather, price, hotels, location, etc.

Originally Posted by Tomasz Bania (Post 729244)

Weather???? Not exactly sure what to say about that, but i'm sure stuff in Atlanta had to be shifted to accomidate FIRST, and expecially with so many teams in Michigan there would be a great driving force to do so in Detroit. St Louis would have to be my other choice, as it is more centralized but all places do have their up sides and down sides.

Originally Posted by Dancin103 (Post 729251)

I would love it if Championships was in Disney. Disney has plenty of room to hold a FIRST championship. It would be so fun! :)

Originally Posted by RollinTDollin (Post 729254)

It's not so much the room with Disney (as they have plenty of it), it's the venue. Where would you hold the fields and pits? This was done back in 2002 and before in tents, but we've outgrown those tents and now need something on the order of the GA Dome and GWCC to fulfill our needs.

Originally Posted by Tomasz Bania (Post 728736)

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

Originally Posted by The Lucas (Post 729268)

The new Jolstens Center in the Wide World of Sports should work for the Fields. I'm sure they could find some space for the pits in the rest of that complex.

Originally Posted by The Lucas (Post 729268)

The new Jolstens Center in the Wide World of Sports should work for the Fields (6 basketball courts = 6 fields). I'm sure they could find some space for the pits in the rest of that complex.

Originally Posted by KTorak (Post 729270)

I think next year will be the last year in Atlanta. I also wouldn't be surprised if it moved back to Orlando.

Originally Posted by Corey Balint (Post 729250)

I don't care if it is centralized or not. The most important thing is how cheap it will be to get there. I'm sure NY, Florida, Boston, LA, Las Vegas would be much cheaper (transportation and hotel) than St. Louis, Detroit, Indy...etc.

Originally Posted by IndySam (Post 729275)

On what do you base this assumption? I bet you would be surprised.

Originally Posted by Joe Matt (Post 729199)

... move to someplace up north and have everyone comlpain about the high being 50, ...

Originally Posted by Corey Balint (Post 729250)

If Nationals/Championships was held in Detroit, I am 100% positive I wouldn't go. It is just not a safe city. There are far too many horror stories for a lot of school districts to allow there kids to go.

Originally Posted by Dancin103 (Post 729251)

I would love it if Championships was in Disney. Disney has plenty of room to hold a FIRST championship. It would be so fun! :)

Originally Posted by BiTurboS4 (Post 729271)

Sorry, the last time I was the Detroit regional, my confidence in my safety was not there. Nor did I ever feel comfortable walking around the GM building at night. So i'd say SKIP on Detroit as a new Championship site.