Quote:
|
Since people complain season after season about MAR Champs at Lehigh, how much more would it cost MAR to use another venue?
|
The easiest answer is a recent response from our Competition Committee Chair, Eric Zygmont.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ezygmont708
Mid-Atlantic Robotics has a great partnership with Lehigh University. Without going to deep, MAR Champs is a $60,000 event. 80% of MAR teams are within 60 miles of the venue. It is a safe venue in a sub-urban/rural setting, and provides the space needed to effectively run our District Championships.
That said, the Venue Selection Committee and the Competition Committee have continually evaluated a variety of venues. The underlying concerns with these venues is location, capacity and cost.
Princeton University has been approached three times and will not commit to a date until 60 days out from the event. The Sun National Bank Center and the Liacouras Center have also been evaluated. These venues are in Urban Areas and command an steep price for Rental and Labor.
The vast majority of teams have a commensurate travel time to the event, and while there are no Hotels on top of the venue, MAR has each year arranged for transportation to and from a list of hotels in Bethlehem.
The competition committee has taken great measure to try to effectively distribute competitions throughout the region. Venues have been mapped against the geographic distribution of teams.
Should members of MAR have suggestions for additional venues they should direct them to the competition committee whose contact information can be found on midatlanticrobotics.org
|
We always listen to any ideas for consideration but have not found any viable options to date. As Eric mentioned, Lehigh provides the exact services and venue we need at a very low cost with no labor issues (i.e. labor unions). We have studied in depth other options for an alternate venue but nothing has been comparable.
MAR's operations are entirely run by volunteers who are members of our local teams. Does hosting at Lehigh have its flaws; sure. But its ease of set up, cost of venue & rentals, safety in surrounding complex, and flexibility of Lehigh personnel make it an easy choice for our operating committees.