To cover the bases based on Detroit:
-venue large enough to house both 5 full playing fields plus FTC fields.
-either same or separate facility to house pits for 300+ FRC teams, 100 FTC teams, FLL teams, plus pit admin, practice fields, etc.
I know Detroit has been looked at several times and actually has 2 suitable venue combinations.
The first combination is using Cobo Hall as the pits, and using Cobo Arena and Joe Louis Arena for the fields or additional pit space. There are several other buildings attached to this, but can't remember any notable ones off the top of my head.
The other combination I heard was to use Ford Field for the Field and use Commerica Park (w/tents) for the pits.
-enough hotels in close proximity (walking distance) to house 500+ teams (students, teachers, parents, mentors) plus VIPs and staff.
Hotels would not be a problem as there are countless hotels in Downtown (including the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere) and many more in the area (including all the new hotel rooms created by last years Casino remodeling blitz.
The Finale could be held at Campus Marcius park in Downtown Detroit.
These buildings are all very close to people mover transportation and the combination can be switched around to convenience FIRST's needs.
-major international airport
Detroit Metro Airport is a Top Ten airport in North America and number 19 in the World, with just enough traffic to make it a large airport, but is big enough to handle large traffic Volumes (Example: Superbowl XL). Highway transport to and from the airport is a breeze, and other major ground transportation is available.
-enough restaurants and food places in the area to feed above mentioned people for a week.
299 Restaurants in the Greater Detroit Area according to
http://detroit.diningguide.com/dl1dm.htm
-entertainment in the area to keep teams entertained at night (ie. Georgia Aquarium, Braves games, etc).
A few off the top of my head:
-Henry Ford Museum
-Greenfield Village
-Rouge Ford Factory Tour
-Many Theaters
-and hundreds of other attractions (including Dave and Busters) in the Metro Detroit Area.
Tomasz Bania