[dangerousdave]

I will stay on topic here. As Amy Prib said earlier in this thread "There's a nice long thread with previous discussions about where people think Championships should go after Atlanta contract is up…" It is disappointing to everyone especially the teams involved, that every team that wants to go to the Championship event can not. Our team has been fortunate and honored to qualify for Championship's since 2004.

As Connor Ryan said "The Georgia Dome itself cannot fit another field without closing the FVC or FLL tournament (remember its the FIRST Championships, not the FRC Championships)." Atlanta could handle more pit space in the GWCC buildings B & A.

If it is a competition space issue then I am not sure that any other domed stadium in the USA has a significantly higher amount of floor space than the GA Dome. The RCA Dome in Indianapolis has about 7,000 less square feet on the floor than the GA Dome. Perhaps the new stadium will have larger floor space. The Edward Jones dome in St. Louis may have more floor space.

The domes are built primarily to house a football field in. The new Univ. of Phoenix Stadium has a retractable side and field but I don't think there is a convention center next to it that could house the pits. Of course the competition could be moved outside of the USA but not likely anytime soon.

IndySam mentioned that Atlanta has Coke as a sugar daddy. I think that 2006 was the first year that Coke was a First sponsor and the event has been in Atlanta since 2004. I am not sure how much of an effect Coke has had.

Again, it is sad that all can not attend but I THINK that if you must be in a domed stadium then most of them have about the same floor size. Then you have to compare other things like hotels, transportation into and around the city, restaurants etc.

We local Atlanta people are of course extremely happy to have the event close by making travel much easier. However, when a site that is better suited for the Championship's is found we will be there!

Dave