Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Donow
The big kicker for me is that we're moving from a D1 hockey arena of one of the top hockey schools in the country to a D3 basketball court at a school not known for its sports. Now, I haven't been to WPI for a robotics event (but I have been in the gym) but I just can't imagine an event there feeling as large as BU (of course however, that brings up another debate about what makes a good event/"big" event).
In regards to pits, is there a pitmap for Battlecry this year? I was only able to find the pit map for the district, and even that looked tight(of course, I'll gladly be proven wrong with a different layout).
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I wouldn't worry about the "feel" of the event at all. WPI knows how to put on a show, and have been doing so for years and years. They have the support of WPI Lens and Light for A/V, and the atmosphere in the arena is every bit as good as, if not better than, at a hockey arena. And WPI may not be known for their traditional sports, but they are certainty known for their robotics programs and activities. Ever since the expansion to both sides of the bleachers, there haven't been any problems with seating. Even before then, WPI put on 40+ team battlecry events, and always seemed to squeeze a little more out of their bleachers. I'm sure it'll be fine.
In regards to the pits, for battlecry, the loading dock area is also used for pit space. Even so, things were rather cramped this past battlecry, with few walkways and some very convoluted paths through the pits for some teams. WPI has tried a lot of things out in regards to pit arraignement in the past few years, and I am sure they have further innovations up their sleeves. Perhaps moving some pits underneath the bleachers, or even upstairs into the (absolutely phenominal) practice area would help alleviate some of the space concerns.
Some upsides to WPI as a venue that no one here is talking about
:
- Like boston, a location very central to most NE teams
- Donated venue, which saves NE FIRST money and allows them to put it directly towards the teams, improving other events, and other things we'd all love to see
- The best practice setup in FIRST outside of the Championship. The spare NE field, elements and all, is fully set up in the upstairs basketball court (accessable through a rather large elevator), along with several traditional wooden quarter-field setups.
- Excellent onsite machine shop
- No restrictions on food brought into the venue
For reference, I've been to every WPI FRC event since Battlecry 8 as either a competitor or a spectator.