Quote:
Originally Posted by KarenH
Although the GWCC Hall C is in better shape than the other halls, this does not guarantee that it will be available to FIRST. The GWCC decision makers must minimize losses. From a business perspective, this means that they must first of all accommodate the clients who spend the most money. As large as the Championship seems to us, the pits only occupy part of Hall C. If a larger group (whose members spend freely on food, drink, and utilities) is planning to use all of Hall B, and it's still being repaired, the GWCC could decide to minimize losses by moving that group to Hall C and booting FIRST out, or by squeezing the pits into an uncomfortable space. One would hope that the contract would prevent such a move, and/or that the GWCC would try to minimize negative publicity by avoiding such actions. |
I'm sure (well, hoping) there are contingency plans in place.
Such as last year when the wrap party was held in the GWCC because of the rain outside. Reservations for something like that aren't made a day or two out because the weather looks bad; rather they have (or at least should) be part of Plan B (or C) all along.
I'd imagine that would be much more likely to rent out the giant tents (a la back in the Disney days) if there really would be an issue with space in GWCC Building C. (Sure it might take some maneuvering to get them there on such a short notice (only a month), but I'm sure it could be done if FIRST is tenacious enough.) Then, as much non-critical stuff as possible would be moved out Building C, leaving just the pits, practice fields, and pit admin. These are critical, and must remain on the same floor as the GA Dome floor, unless we want to resurrect the ramps of doom.
And I really don't see the need to host FTC and FLL events elsewhere; the GA Dome is probably the least damaged building, and it's not critical that FTC or FLL teams' pits are on the same floor as the GA Dome floor. You could just put a tent in the courtyard, and have all their pits there, and have them walk down the stairs outside the GA Dome to the lower entrance,
Remember, while the Championship Event may include msotly FRC robots, there is a reason why it's called the FIRST Championship Event and not FRC Championship Event. There's no need to jip FTC and FLL teams of their chance enjoy the spotlight and to compete in the GA Dome alongside everyone else just so FRC can selfishly take over.
Edit: After looking over the info from the GWCC link Karen posted above, it would seem to me that FIRST would remain as one of the high priority events, since it would be considered an "international sporting event" drawing a lot of people (30,000+) in from outside Atlanta and Georgia (read: they want to you pump $$$ into their local economy), all potentially booked for 3-5 days of hotel rooms in the greater Atlanta area.