Will nationals ever be back in Disney?

[mtaman02]

I went to Epcot in 2002 and it was not only a cool area to have the nationals, but it made a great trip for the seniors who were on the team that graduated that year. Sadly like many posts, Disney is too small for FIRST let alone the discount packages would not be that great. FIRST wants to have everyone participate in the nationals but since there are too many teams FIRST can only have (X) amount of teams to go including the Regional and Certain Award Winners.

Personally what FIRST shoud do is restructure the championship event into 2 smaller championships. A western and eastern championship - that way more teams can play or so I hope. The down fall is it will cost more.

After that the winning teams can go to a main championship with maybe a few more teams or whatever regional winners are left that haven't played, and they all battle it out for the National title.

Like I said key points are venues, funding, team approval, and after hours things to do.

The only way FIRST will go back to WDW is if either WDW grows or FIRST shrinks. =(

[KenWittlief]

The championship at WDW was one of the phases that FIRST went through as it grew.

Im sure people who attended the original competition in the 1st year of FIRST think it was something special

and the 1st time the championship was held at WDW, that had to be an awesome experience

FIRST is growing and evolving, we cant go back anymore than I can do to my HS prom again, or my freshman year of college again. Some things are a once-in-a-lifetime experience

Im certain FIRST will continue to present outstanding experiences for everyone involved. Remember the 1st regional you attended? does anything compair with that?

We dont need WDW or any other organization to make FIRST special. We ARE FIRST

we make it what it is.

Onward and Upward :^)

[Wetzel]

If FIRST ever goes back to Disney, it will be to goto the Wide World of Sports. WWS is a beautiful facility that would be great to hold the Championship at. However, I think it will be a few years before it becomes possible for FIRST to go there.

There is a bidding process for the location of the championship venue, similar to how the Olympics are figured. Cities and venues are courting FIRST to come to their location, I think that is a good thing.


Wetzel

[dangerousdave]

While our team is happy to have the National's in our area we certainly understand others wanting them near their home. Here is some Georgia Dome news that just appeared in the Atlanta newspaper today.

"Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank plans to invest up to $150 million in the state-owned Georgia Dome. While a big reason is to help the city land the Super Bowl all who use the dome will benefit. Mr. Blank said "But the reality is that if we don't get the bid, this is the right thing to do for Atlanta and our community."

While these improvements will not be immediate they will help the GA Dome stay a state of the art facility to help keep up with the needs of First Robotics. At least 70% of the income for the GA Dome comes from the Falcons so it is very likely that Mr. Blank's needs will be addressed.

Also, late this year Atlanta's new aquarium will open. This should help address the concerns about things to do in downtown Atlanta.
Thanks to a generous gift from Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot, the Georgia Aquarium will be one of the largest and most exciting aquariums in the world, featuring more than 55,000 animals from 500 different species in over 5 million gallons of water. The Georgia Aquarium is located in downtown Atlanta, next to the new World of Coca-Cola, and across the street from CNN Center, the Georgia World Congress Center, Centennial Olympic Park and Imagine It! Atlanta’s Children’s Museum.

Some facts from the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

Atlanta is 1st in:

Fastest Growing Online City
Source: Nielsen/NetRatings 2003

Airport for non-stop service to United States Destinations
Source: Back Aviation Solutions and OSG, 2003

Airport in Number of Passengers
Source: The Atlanta Journal Constitution, February 16, 2005

America’s Hottest 50 Cities
Source: Expansion Magazine, January, 2004

Most Affordable Market
Source: Business Week, Jan. 3, 2005

Technology Accessible (2nd)
Source: Popular Science, 2005

Georgia Dome - the largest cable-supported domed stadium in North America

Convention information for 2004

3,041,387 Convention attendance
92,359 hotel rooms at 745 properties
more shopping center space per capita than any other U.S. city except Chicago

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
80 percent of the U.S. population is within a two-hour flight of Atlanta

See everyone at the GA Dome next month!