Atlanta - activities/ammenities I'd like to see

[pauluffel]

As to bands, I would like to see a local band like, oh say, REM? show up to do a concert. As to Will Hoge, he did a concert in Centennial Park earlier this summer and it was quite good. I don't believe he made much money off of it (admission was $3 and he was just one of the openers for Blues Traveler) so he would probably be willing to come again. They Might Be Giants has also performed in Centennial Olympic Park, though that was a couple of years ago and then there wasn't an admission price, so I believe both of those bands would be willing to do a show in Centennial Park without being paid (or without being paid much).

[Ryan Dognaux]

They Might Be Giants are great, it would be awesome if FIRST somehow got them... REM... well if they played their old stuff it would be good. The new stuff is horrible

[Chris Fultz]

*A meeting room in each hotel where the students can hang out with other teams would be great - and allow us to bring in refreshments from outside.


The best way to get this would be for a team to negotiate a meeting room into their package when they book at the hotel. Request it just for the evenings - then the hotel can still use it during the day for other meetings. Maybe a few teams could split the extra cost.

The key will be to be sure and respect the property and others in the hotel. If you cram 40 people into a 20 person conference room things get broken, and you're back to security guards in the lobby again (another replier stated this).

[dez250]

OK heres what i think, since i have been working with M since the start for the "Pavilion idea". LAN Parties can happen, but only in a hotel with each other, don't even really try to get a LAN party started in the park, one it wouldn't work, 2 personally WHY!?!, maybe its just me but i think i can find a few things for some team members to do to display FIRST to the public other then by playing games... Also guys, you gotta remember these things have to be available to the general public who wants to know about FIRST if its going to be happening during Nats in the Park by us.

Now onto Bands... Don't think of getting any bands to play if they charge any sort of fee. This goes against GP really, FIRST noticed in the last year of Disney a band wont work... The people are tired and it winds up being a wasted effort. Now if bands would like to set up on their own and perform for free without interacting with FIRST and just happen to perform at the same time, go for it, i don't see a problem unless they charge a fee. Personally i would not like to see a band perform on my behalf due to it changes why people would be there. From getting to learn about FIRST to going to a free concert... When you start charging the public for activities and events that they want to learn more about or find out what it is, thats when the event goes down hill... Why do you think FIRST doesn't charge admission at competitions?

~Mike

P.S.~ i am going to be gone for at least 5 days starting Thursday you can email me your replies... my email is:
Dezdezdez25[AT]Netscape[DOT]net [AT]=@ and [DOT]=.
or you can wait till I'm home for me to reply here...

[Jeff Waegelin]

Originally posted by dez250
Now onto Bands... Don't think of getting any bands to play if they charge any sort of fee. This goes against GP really, FIRST noticed in the last year of Disney a band wont work... The people are tired and it winds up being a wasted effort. Now if bands would like to set up on their own and perform for free without interacting with FIRST and just happen to perform at the same time, go for it, i don't see a problem unless they charge a fee. Personally i would not like to see a band perform on my behalf due to it changes why people would be there. From getting to learn about FIRST to going to a free concert... When you start charging the public for activities and events that they want to learn more about or find out what it is, thats when the event goes down hill... Why do you think FIRST doesn't charge admission at competitions?

What do you mean, getting a band to play is against GP? Paying for a band has absolutely nothing to with Gracious Professionalism. If done right, a couple of good bands could make the team party in Centennial Park a great time. If that's where everyone's going to eat food and mingle with other FIRSTers, what's the harm in having some good live music? As long as it's not too expensive, and no admission is charged beyond the basic fees for Nats, I have no problem at all with that. In fact, I think it should be encouraged. A good band or two could really make the difference between an average party and a good one. In the end, people will go to the party because it's part of the competition experience, for the same reasons they always have, not just because some band is going to be playing. And nobody ever said anything about charging anything. Where did you get that idea? I can see your concern, but I don't see any of it as valid enough to matter.

[Madison]

Originally posted by Jeff Waegelin
As long as it's not too expensive, and no admission is charged beyond the basic fees for Nats, I have no problem at all with that.

My biggest problem would be that the team party needs to remain an event that's closed to the public. While we want to do everything we can to attract attention and interest in our Atlanta event, we don't want to risk safety to the competition participants.

A party in Centennial Park might be fun, but faces two challenges. The first is the most obvious -- weather. Does Centennial Park offer the same sort of indoor attractions found at Epcot that can accept an influx of thousands of people? It doesn't, as far as I can tell.

Second is security. The event needs to be cut off from public access. My fear would be that a free concert by any locally or nationally famous act would attract public attention -- but at the wrong time. The Party is for the FIRST participants to celebrate surviving another season. Public awareness and interest in FIRST needs to be cultivated before the party, not during it. I'd be worried that a performance in a public park would attract too much outside attention, and where security might not have been a real problem, it could become a huge, expensive headache.

Just my concerns.

[Jeff Waegelin]

Originally posted by M. Krass
My biggest problem would be that the team party needs to remain an event that's closed to the public. While we want to do everything we can to attract attention and interest in our Atlanta event, we don't want to risk safety to the competition participants.

A party in Centennial Park might be fun, but faces two challenges. The first is the most obvious -- weather. Does Centennial Park offer the same sort of indoor attractions found at Epcot that can accept an influx of thousands of people? It doesn't, as far as I can tell.

To the first... absolutely. I agree that the party should be closed off to the public. To the second, it's not Epcot, but what else is? I doubt that there's any easily accessible area nearby with the kind of "indoor attractions" like Epcot. Centennial Park wouldn't be Epcot, but we have to work with what was chosen, and the whole concert thing seems like something interesting and doable, given the facilities available.

[Cory]

I think Dez was talking about charging people admission to the concert, whereas earlier posters were talking about FIRST paying bands to play at Nats.

Cory

[Matt Krass]

Another solution to the LAN Party thing would be like the wireless net links 108 provided this year, it formed a LAN in the pits, get some strong PCs to act as games server and you're on.

[KevinB]

Originally posted by pauluffel
As to bands, I would like to see a local band like, oh say, REM? show up to do a concert. As to Will Hoge, he did a concert in Centennial Park earlier this summer and it was quite good. I don't believe he made much money off of it (admission was $3 and he was just one of the openers for Blues Traveler) so he would probably be willing to come again. They Might Be Giants has also performed in Centennial Olympic Park, though that was a couple of years ago and then there wasn't an admission price, so I believe both of those bands would be willing to do a show in Centennial Park without being paid (or without being paid much).

Um... Just because there wasn't an admission price DOES NOT mean the artist didn't get paid! It just means they didn't get paid BY YOU. Many of the large free shows like that get big-time sponsorship dollars from Budweiser, Coke, local radio stations, etc. You think bands will fly anything other than first class? hehe.

Putting on a concert of that magnitude in a public park costs THOUSANDS of dollars ... think about it ... you have to rent staging, lighting, and full sound equipment .. and then you need qualified people to set up and run the whole thing. Typically big name bands require venues to contract these services to nationally recognized companies that cost big bucks. (the artists don't want crappy sound guys making them sound like butt .... hehe). Not to mention that the City of Atlanta would have to say yes to the whole thing and issue a permit.

Having said all that, It's probably still a feasible option to have bands play in the actual arena. They had Mandy Moore play at Nat's 2 years ago, which seemed to go pretty well (think about it ... the field area already had the necessary sound, lighting, and staging equipment -- just add a band).

I know of one Atlanta local band, Cloud-10. They are signed to Course of Nature's record label and are pretty solid. They have been playing at various college and high school events in AL -- so I KNOW they'd be interested in playing the GA Dome. Theres a band in Birmingham, AL called Adelayda that would probably do it too (they're up-and-coming as well). Search for 'em on KaZaa.

Anyway, enough rambling! I'm done!

[Eric Brummer]

Well, having been back from Atlanta for a while, but busy with other stuff i haven't brought it up. Atlanta hosted the youth gathering i was at extremely well. It was a blast. Unfortunately i don't know if i shall have any pictures due to loosing some stuff on the flight back. I can say this, if you walk at a normal pace it takes u about 2 minutes max to get between the Georgia Dome and the GWCC. I don't know exactly how they plan to set up the site for FIRST, so things may change around, but if you go out the doors of the GWCC around the C section, (which is nearest to the Georgia Dome) this is all by memory so hopefully the names are accurate, and walk directly across there is a small grassy area much like a small football/frisbee field, yes we played frisbee on it one bad thing is its got a line of brick every some odd feet, but it still worked out. There is no elevation change other then maybe one step between the GWCC and the Georgia Dome, i can't say this for sure, since the GWCC is a multifloored and expansive building. They may end up putting us up a level, i dont know. Also, about a 5-10 minute walk depending how slow you are from the GWCC and the Georgia Dome is the CNN Center, which has an extremely large food court that could easily hold a large percentage of FIRST'ers. MARTA worked out extremely well. You can use it to get pretty much anywhere. Superman at Six Flags Over Georgia was great. Its a flying coaster so you are laying down during the ride including a large loop that results on your back being towards the ground if you get the picture. What else? The whole "take MARTA to see the cows thing" is about a city wide art thing going on. I know my city did it too. Different companies and other groups took a cow and then painted/whatnot to it to make it there own cow and the cows are spread out throughout the city on display. Also, MARTA security guards don't appreciate volleyball or frisbee being played on the train or at stations, and I had to climb down onto the tracks in order to retrieve a frisbee. The Sheraton Colony hosted us very well, didn't see a roach or anything disturbing. There is a small mall connected to it for food and such, as well as a Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins. One thing about this hotel is, its in the Midtown area, and since less people will be there for FIRST, everyone will probably gravitate towards the airport/Georgia Dome section. Marriott Marquee i believe was the most praised hotel of any one the ELCA was at. The GWCC for the youth gathering, had ropes courses hooked up, 8 or so basketball courts, a few volleyball courts and one sand vball court, an ultimate frisbee court, ping pong, dodge ball, kickball all set up along with stages for bands, an area selling stuff. Those were just in the main exhibition hall. There were plenty of meeting rooms 2. Obviously we will use most of the exhibition hall for pits etc, but it would be nice to see some team/multi team building activities. I think nationals should be extended (which won't happen this year) add an extra day in so that things are quite as rushed, and allow more social time. How often do you get some of the brightest high school students united under common goals under one room? Make the most of it and meet people, which is alot harder when u r putting in so much work on the robot just to keep it working. If they spaced things out and had a little more social time I think it would vastly improve nationals, and it builds another skill involved in business, networking. Meeting new people that may end up being a good friend/helping u later on.
Can't think of much else to say at the moment, request any info u want and i'll let u know if i have an answer in regards to the Georgia Dome/GWCC/Atlanta

[Rickertsen2]

Originally posted by Matt Krass
Another solution to the LAN Party thing would be like the wireless net links 108 provided this year, it formed a LAN in the pits, get some strong PCs to act as games server and you're on.

I could provide the server PCs, but with 802.11b there is no way you can have more than a few people in most games without horrible lag. Even with 801.11g/a, things arn't much better.Besides with an area soo large, you would need multiple access points, which can be a pain to coordinate. You could use ad-hoc mode, but that further compounds bandwidth probs. Unfortunately i think wired is the only feasable solution. The trouble then lies with the wires and the problems associated with them (lengths of over 100meters for ethernet and also people not liking cables strewn about.) Assuming we have several smaller networks using a typical tree topology, cable lengths shouldn't be all that bigh of a deal though.

Some people seem to object to a FIRST lanparty, but i think it would be a fun relief when people arn't to busy. I love FIRST and i love lanparies, and i know many other people feel the same way so why not combine the two?

[Cory]

Originally posted by Rickertsen2
but i think it would be a fun relief when people arn't to busy.

You mean theres a time when people arent busy at a competition? I call that sleeping time

Cory