I'm hoping for a move to the Midwest sometime in the next 2 years before I graduate. Atlanta is a cool city, and works for FIRST now, but I feel that there are other cities that are just as great, or may have more to offer than Atlanta, such as St. Louis, Minneapolis, or Indianapolis.
Any move at the moment would be great for the growth of FIRST. There isn't a better way to express the true meaning and impact of FIRST than seeing the best of the best gathered at one place --The International Championships. After being in Atlanta for 3 years, the local businesses and school systems have had quite some time to pickup on FIRST...it's time to spread the message somewhere else.
I'm sure that teams that go to the Championships year after year agree that the Atlanta attractions have been exhausted quickly. In 3 years, most teams have already gone to the GA Aquarium, visited the World of Coke, the Underground, taken a CNN or GA Tech tour, been to a Braves game, and gone to most of the restaurants nearby. I have only been once, and now there really isn't anything besides the competition that I'm looking forward to.
Going back to logistics, it has been stated many times in this thread that a Midwest location would even out the traveling costs for teams. It may appear ironic that I am advocating for a regional farther away, when Atlanta is only a 1.5 hour flight away, but I see it as a win-win situation. Everyone (except Midwest teams) pays the same price to get there, and we all get to travel to a new place. Of course I could say that moving to South Florida would be perfect (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale comes to mind with tons of hotels, tourist attractions, great weather, and the beach), but there are a few flaws and that would be pushing it.
*I am slightly biased on the ATL situation. I once lived in a surrounding city, and I visit there almost every year now, so there is nothing that special about the city anymore, to me at least.
-No L