Quote:
Originally Posted by Denise Bohnsack
I would like to see comments from folks who have personal experience who have attended the event in 2003.
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I live in Houston and have attended the 2003 Championship in Houston as well as the 2012 Championship in St. Louis.
In 2003, they made the mistake of using the Astrodome for the pit areas and it was a disaster! Very hard to get the robots to and from the pits. On that score, St. Louis was undeniably better.
However, the situation has changed since 2003. The Astrodome has been all but abandoned and the Reliant Center has been built.
With 5 large halls and over 700,000 square feet in the center, there is no question that the Reliant Center is large enough to house the pit areas. Add in the space within the dome and the facility could hande championships even if FIRST decided to expand to 8 divisions. However, it is at least 200 yards across a the parking lot to get to the stadium, which means it would still be a problem to get the robots to and from the pit areas.
For those still pulling for Houston, there is hope. The county is considering plans to demolish the Astrodome. Once that is done, it is anybody's guess what additional development will occur.
IMO, an expansion of the Reliant Center to the point where it is attached, or nearly attached to the stadium is possible, but some years away. IF it happened, it would be an ideal location for a much larger FIRST championship. In the meantime, it doesn't make as good a venue as St. Louis.