I love this discussion every time it comes up. And it seems to come up 3 to 4 times per year. There are specific requirements that come up that generally have to be met, but that wasn't the point I wanted to make today.
Are thier places that could compete with Atlanta? Yes. Are those places that offer
FIRST a substantial advantage to move? But substantial I mean significant new capabilities, more/better space (at the same cost), the existing capabilities at much lower cost? Given the size of championship and what it takes to put it together,
FIRST has invested a lot of social capital in Atlanta. They know the area, they know the service providers, they have relationships with the organizations in the community. From thier standpoint, there is significant risk to move versus maintaining status quo.
Plus you have little thinks that make life easier for those planning the event (and trust me it take a momumental effort to plan that event). It easier to take an existing floor plan and tweak it (say for the pits) then to develop a new one from scratch. Things like that.
A new location could be interesting, but currently I don't see the drivers being strong enough to push
FIRST in that direction.
As for Canada... Or anyplace else north of say Chicago... How about someplace where it won't snow during the event?
