Championships location from 07 and onwards

[sanddrag]

The problem with finding a place for chamionships (besides space for the pits) is that you need not just a big floor space but a big area of elevated viewing around it. In places like convention centers, this may me hard to come by. They are great for floor space but don't have any provisions for spectating.

The stadium where the AZ Diamondbacks play in Phoenix is really nice. It has a roof that closes over it. The fields would all fit on the baseball field and the pits could be in the large corridors underneath the stands all the way around the arena. The only problem would be lack of a concrete floor.

[David Brinza]

BTW

Seating capacity is rather limited at Staples in the hockey configuration (16,000). It's not much better at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim (17,500).

Problems for accommodating fans for FIRST teams would be amplified compared to that at the Georgia Dome or other domed football stadiums. Teams would have to reserve seats and the logistics would be even more complicated.

As hard as it seems to believe, the FIRST Championships are TOO BIG for Los Angeles!!!

[activemx]

How about Antartica,i would love to go there. Besides the fact that all the drivers will have to wear fur coats. More people will be chearing to keep them selves warm

[David Brinza]

Originally Posted by activemx

How about Antartica,i would love to go there. Besides the fact that all the drivers will have to wear fur coats. More people will be chearing to keep them selves warm

Sounds VERY COOL!

Robots on snowshoes.
No need for freeze spray to cool motors and breakers.
Woody in penguin camoflage.
20 hours of daylight.

It all fits!!

[Cory]

I don't particularly care where they are, as long as it isn't snowing and freezing

They need to be near a major airport. Atlanta, Orlando, NYC, Chicago, LA, etc all come to mind. The bigger the airport, the cheaper the flights (most likely)

It doesn't cost all that much to fly to Atlanta. You could find $200 roundtrips from the west coast, booked far enough in advance. This is reasonable.

Hawaii...impossible, no facilities large enough, that I know of, and airfare is astronomically high. Something on the order of $600 r/t from San Francisco.

Atlanta is pretty darn good. I like it, not as much as Disney, but I like it. Next year I'm sure FIRST will make it even better.

Disney isn't exactly a cost saving alternative. Food prices are exorbitant. The hotel packages were far less reasonable than those in Atlanta. EVERYTHING is more expensive at Disney. The only thing I liked more about Disney was the atmosphere. It was simply amazing. Having the themeparks was nice, but they didn't make, or break the deal for me.

[ngreen]

Theres a lot of factors to consider when hosting a FIRST event.

The most important would be facilities. This includes both venues that would work and reasonably priced hotels near the venues.

But my next most important factor would be transportation. With many new international teams you need to have a good and cheap international airport. Also it is nice if the domestic flights are cheap too. If possible you want a more central location in terms of North American teams so that bus travel is reasonable. It would also be nice to have good intercity transportation.

Food is the next consideration. There needs to be food that is diverse and cheap.

The two other key considerations would be safety and sights. Is it safe enough to walk from the hotels to the venue or to nearby restaurants? And is there things you can do in the city in your off time (if you have any)?

After all these considerations, I think Atlanta is a pretty good place to be. Unless another city answers these questions better I think we'll stay in Atlanta.

[Wetzel]

St Louis
San Antonio
Indianapolis

They seem to have domes connected to convention centers that are large enough to consider.

Wetzel

[Amanda Aldridge]

Ok, so I won't turn this into a "it should be here to be closer to my team" thread, but can i turn it into an "it should be here to be closer to me" thread? Just kidding. I would love Indy or good ole Chi-town though....hmmm....One is an hour from where I live, the other two hours - and 15 minutes from my parents house....I wonder how many teamless FIRST-ers we could fit in their basement.

Sorry, just had to add that. It's the devil in me

[abeD]

Miami anyone??

Plenty of hotels, one giant convention center that I know of, beaches, good food, lots of hotels, most likely warmer than atl this time of year.


but realistically Atl is a pretty good venue (even though I was a big fan of epcot)

[Bcahn836]

I think a great place to hold championships would be in Baltimore's inner harbor. There are plenty of attractions, a huge convention centers, plenty of restaurants and several hotels.

Another great place would be Biloxi Mississippi. Again plenty of attractions, a medium sized convention center and coliseum, good ole home style southern cooking, and lots and lots of hotels, and did I mention the beaches. Anything to take me back home. LOL

[jdhawg]

Originally Posted by Bcahn836

Another great place would be Biloxi Mississippi. Again plenty of attractions, a medium sized convention center and coliseum, good ole home style southern cooking, and lots and lots of hotels, and did I mention the beaches. Anything to take me back home. LOL

Please don't EVER do that again! I was drinking my morning coffee and almost spewed it all over my desk! I've been here for 11 years, and as much as I would love for the Mississippi Gulf Coast to host a Regional, there just isn't any way to fit a Championship Event here.

New Orleans, on the other hand, has possibilities. Could you imagine 10,000+ geeks and their parents and mentors converging on Bourbon Street? Wait a minute....... maybe that isn't such a good idea after all.

[Erin Rapacki]

Similar to Superbowl rules... I think the Championships should always be someplace warm (ex: average high temp above 70 in April).

Frankly, I like Atlanta and I hope the Championships stay there. With every year the event logistics become more accomidating because the venue staff learn really well how FIRST events operate, there's plenty of space to add events and be flexible (VEX, Conferences, FIRST Store, etc...), there's plenty of space for a party, I personally like the city a lot, its Segway friendly, the Omni rocks, lots of restaurants within walking distance, big airport that's easily connected by MARTA, and things seem to be figured out for the most part.

Basically, I think it'll be a mistake for both Atlanta and FIRST to not renew the contract. Atlanta would loose an event the city seems proud to have (lots of hotel staff wore FIRST pins) and FIRST will have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to working with a different venue.

[EOC]

The Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis is a very similar to the Georgia Dome. Lots of space with an adjoining convention center. St. Louis is centrally located which means less travel for many teams (i.e. California and Michigan). It should be seriously considered. The fact that it is 20 miles from our school is just a coincidence.

[coreyjon]

Hmm, A nationals in Orlando at Disney would be cool again, and bring back some old memories. Florida is a fun state. Cincinnati would also be a cool place, it's kinda centrally located, huge airport that is a hub for many airlines. I don't know the area too well, but I've flown in there, and the airport is large. What about lake placid, I know at least team 229 would probably like that, but as for things to do...cow tipping..probably not a great choice. I would say, Albany...we have the Pepsi arena, and the egg, which has a giant convention hall with lots of space, theres a museum, and of course cross gates mall which is large, not as large as the galleria in Houston though. I'm not sure this would be as fun as a place like Orlando though, because Orlando was set up big time for tourism, so there is a lot to do down there, but that also means it will cost more. Oh the tough decisions. The only rumor I heard was Orlando from some of the people down in Atlanta, but really, I doubt anything has been decided upon yet.

[artdutra04]

Currently, Atlanta is an ideal city, if not the best, to host the Championships since it is a major air travel hub, has the Georgia Dome/GWCC right next to each other, has plenty of hotels and a pretty decent subway system. But since everyone is putting out possibilities for the Championships, why don't I suggest Las Vegas?

Aside from the casinos, there are a few good reasons why Vegas might work, but the key word there is few. There's the Las Vegas Convention Center located there, right in the middle of the Strip. Las Vegas has plenty of hotels, with a bunch of them connected to the Convention Center via their monorail system. You can never run out of entertainment in Vegas, and its location is better suited for the west coast teams. Then again, the whole idea of FIRST going to the "Sin City" to hold their Championships isn't very positive...

Anyway, I'd say the best city for the Championships is in fact Atlanta, for all of Erin's reasons.