Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Corsetto
3. Venues: There are many HS in California. I know we can get creative and make it work. Its a matter of intelligence over convenience.
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Mike, just to be blunt here: when is the last time you were down this way, other than IE 2014?
Yes, there are many HS in CA. There have to be, because of all the people (and all the HS students). But, the biggest question is this:
Of all those HS, how many are able to fit a 40-team FRC event? I would argue that maybe half of them would have the capability just on the "covered open space" requirement--enough space within reasonable proximity for fields and pits. Then you can rule out a few more on the seating requirements--witness said IE 2014 (seating was extremely tight, from what I could see--and so was everything else; they needed more space). Call it a third of the HS's in SoCal would be workable with some minor tweaking and/or major schmoozing with the districts. Still quite a lot, but not as many as you might think.
For ready-to-go regional HS venues (that aren't already hosting), with local team(s) to get a quick manpower boost, I can think of maybe 1-3 offhand, depending on how split you want the pits, all of which have hosted a small-ish offseason. (Adding in a CC or two, that means that I can count 'em on one hand if barely.) For various compromises (lack of local teams, more separation of the pits/field, shorting the seating, or adjusting access), you can get a lot more, maybe up to 2/3 of the HS venues can make it work. The question becomes, how big of a compromise can you actually take before it's unworkable, and people
let you know after the season?
Now, that being said, I think it's time to get creative--has anybody, anybody at all, ever tried to host an FRC event in a
theater? As in, like, theater where plays are put on? I betcha that a gym-theater combo could do the trick--if they were close enough together and the stage was big enough. And I can think of a couple of those down here that might just barely be workable... Seating, comfy; all seats have good view; plenty of room backstage for queuing... Just need a covered walkway or bagged robots if it's a bit rainy.
And for some reason, folks down here seem to be starting to emphasize the arts a little bit...