FIRST has $8 Million?!? What did I miss?

[Madison]

Originally Posted by 1075guy

Yeah... $8M really ISNT that much money, and if you really want to think about it... Its pretty amazing that FIRST is running these 40-odd FRC events plus all the FLL and FTC events for just shy of $20M. I'm very certain that some of the regionals (especially the larger ones, like GTR and NYC) cost close to $500,000 if not more to put on. The Hershey Centre (home of our GTR) is a full arena complex used by the Mississauga St Michaels Majors, Ontario Hockey League team as home ice (tickets to such hockey games run about $30-50 a head). GTR rents out the main stadium, and the neighboring community pad for the pits. To do this for 4 days (wednesday setup, plus the 3 day competition) I am certain does not come cheaply.

It's important to realize that FIRST HQ pays little or none of the costs of operating a regional event beyond those associated with the creation and transportation of the field and the staff on hand. Venue rental, A/V, catering, pipe and drape... everything else is almost always funded by sponsorship at the regional level.