[Phalanx]

I'm familiar with both Atlanta and St. Louis, having competed and volunteered at both places I've formed my own personal opinions on those two.

Atlanta does have a large airport easy to get to, with lots of flights in/out.

St. Louis airport is smaller with fewer flights in/out, but, is much cheaper to fly to than Atlanta, and I'm on the east coast. Flight time is pretty much the same. St. Louis is also more a "central" location for all teams.

Atlanta is far more expensive for hotels, food, and even air fare compared to St. Louis. Although prices have been going up steadily in St. Louis.

In Atlanta, I don't like the walk between the convention center Pits and the Dome for competition. It takes a good 10 minutes to walk it. If you have a short window between matches you can't get back to the pits for repairs, or even to send a runner for supplies. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but, aren't they planning on tearing down the existing Georgia Dome?

In St Louis, the walk between the convention center pit area and the dome for competition was under 5 minutes. Plenty of time to send a runner or get back & forth in a short window.

When it comes to safety out on the street both Atlanta and St. Louis have their issues. Pretty much any city does. Use common sense, stay in groups. And btw, both cities have the local police "clean out" the vagrants prior to our arrival. Try experiencing each those cities when that doesn't happen, and it's VERY different.

I can't compare the other suggested event venues as I've not been to any of them to compare, but, if it was my choice, I'd choose St. Louis, hands down.