[Jacob Bendicksen]

Hi! Team 1540 hosts 3 offseason events each year, so I'll be able to answer most of your questions.

1. Unfortunately we're a little far away...but ask around at the regional/district events that you're going to. A lot of teams don't frequent CD.
2. It would be a lot cheaper (I'd think) to host it at your school than to have it somewhere else. I'd reserve parking at the school for official team vehicles (trailers, etc.) and run a shuttle, since renting another venue can get really expensive really quickly.
3. We don't have to pay for a field since we're in the PNW. Before the PNW had fields (prior to this past season), it usually cost us about $10,000 to ship the field out, which we paid for via registration fees for the event and event sponsors. We never make money off of the events - we just break even. As far as food goes, try to negotiate some sort of deal with a local restaurant - if you can provide them with several hundred hungry high schoolers, they'll probably be happy to give you a cut of the profits.
4. Running offseason events has absolutely increased FIRST awareness in our school. There's a huge difference between going to our gym and going to an event across town (psychologically at least), and it's been really great for our efforts to make FIRST loud. It's always a fun moment when we're all set up in the gym with the entire field, and the varsity soccer team comes walking into the gym after practice and goes 'whoa.'

In short, I think you should absolutely try to host an offseason competition. It's a great experience for your team, your school, and the FIRST community around you, and on top of that, it's a lot of fun.

I'd be happy to discuss this in much more detail - just PM me and we can set up a time to talk.