pic: After The Atlanta Tornado

[Danny McC]

Well I heard the only one that got affected was the Omni. And that just had broken windows. Shouldnt take very long to get that fixed. I am not sure if any others were affected.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by Danny McC

Well I heard the only one that got affected was the Omni. And that just had broken windows. Shouldnt take very long to get that fixed. I am not sure if any others were affected.

I hope you're right. Replacing windows like that aren't like going to Lowe's and picking up some panes of glass. I bet many of those rooms won't be available for months.

[Danny McC]

Yeah. You are correct. Wasn't thinking. I would hope if they arent available FIRST would do something to help those teams who were going to be there. I am down for letting people stay with the team. Don't know about my mentors though. Or the hotel for that matter.

[Cartwright]

I was on Wikipedia (which i know is not entirely a reliable source) and in its article on FIRST, it says that because of the effects of Atlanta's tornado, the 2008 Nationals (Championship) will be held in Las Vegas. It seems pretty unlikely. Do you think this is true?

Here's the link: Wikipedia: FIRST: First Robotics Competition The statement is the last sentence of the paragraph.

[Danny McC]

This seems very unlikely. Most people bought their tickets to Atlanta already and booked hotels. I believe this would cause mass chaos. The buildings should be fine by than.

[Uberbots]

Originally Posted by Cartwright

I was on Wikipedia (which i know is not entirely a reliable source) and in its article on FIRST, it says that because of the effects of Atlanta's tornado, the 2008 Nationals (Championship) will be held in Las Vegas. Is this true?

Here's the link: Wikipedia: FIRST: First Robotics Competition The statement is the last sentence of the paragraph.

its wikipedia. no need to freak out- someone was probably trying to create minor confusion.

[Erich & Posse]

Well, happy pi day

[IndySam]

There is no practical way for the Championship to be moved from Atlanta. To much money has been spent by teams already

The people of Atlanta will pull through, just bring your track shoes and expect more walking than ever.

[Coredesat]

Originally Posted by Uberbots

its wikipedia. no need to freak out- someone was probably trying to create minor confusion.

I'm an admin on Wikipedia; if an anonymous user hadn't removed it, I would have. I would chalk it up to a member of a team trying to cause some trouble. I hate to have to make that assumption but the edit was too specific for it to be a random vandal.

[KTorak]

Here is a response I got from the Westin about the hotel situation:

Last night Downtown was hit by a tornado resulting in some damage to
the downtown convention corridor. The storms were linear and thankfully,
the damaged areas are minimal. However, we are still assessing the
damage surrounding the Georgia World Congress Center campus.

The remaining games of the SEC Championship have been relocated to the
Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Georgia Tech. Tickets sold
to the public are no longer valid and only individuals holding
credentials will be admitted to the games. Several downtown hotels have
set up viewing screens in their lobbies. Many of the fans have returned
home.

The Hinman Dental convention ended today. Most conventions have left or
are on their way home. Exhibitors have not moved out of the Georgia
World Congress Center and are not being allowed to enter the facility.
Hinman will work with the Georgia World Congress Center on timing and
safety for the breakdown of exhibits.

Our hotels experienced little or no damage. The Omni Hotel at CNN Center
is fully operational with the exception of 467 rooms located in the
South Tower, which will reopen in two weeks. The building has been
declared structurally sound and all guest rooms in the North Tower, all
meeting space, the lobby and restaurant are operating. The Westin
Peachtree Plaza experienced damage to less than 15 hotel rooms and is
fully operational.

Attractions were not affected. The Georgia Aquarium, New World of
Coca-Cola and Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta are open for
business. The CNN Center sustained minor damage to the roof, which was
repaired this afternoon. The food court at CNN Center and the Inside CNN
Studio Tour will reopen on Monday.

Georgia World Congress Center Authority officials confirmed storm damage
to all three venues, including the Georgia World Congress Center,
Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia Dome. Assessment of the damage
is ongoing and an update will be provided on Monday, March 17. Until
that time, all three venues will be closed to the public.

We are looking at the schedule for shows coming to Atlanta in the
immediate future. Once we receive a structural update from GWCC, we will
address each of these groups on an individual basis. At this time, we do
not have plans to relocate business outside of Atlanta.

We will be certain to communicate with you as we receive additional
information. Please look to hear from us again in the next few days with
additional information. Thank you in advance for your partnership and
work to help us minimize the effects of this storm on our business.

Sincerely,


Spurgeon Richardson
President and CEO
Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

[shsroboticsclub]

Personally I think These repairs will be some of the fastest you have ever seen. There are MANY MANY things held in these buildings so its not just FIRST who will need it. I wouldnt be suprised if before long big companies that need the dome in the near future send money or help so that it wll be repaired byt the time they need it. So if you see FIRST's sponsors pour a bit of money into the dome you will know why.

Also Im not sure if FIRST has renewed its three year contract with the dome. That may play a role in this too.

[T3_1565]

well nothing on the FIRST offical site says its changed.. so I wouldn't trust Wiki until there is another source to confirm!

[dangerousdave]

Originally Posted by Cartwright

I was on Wikipedia (which i know is not entirely a reliable source) and in its article on FIRST, it says that because of the effects of Atlanta's tornado, the 2008 Nationals (Championship) will be held in Las Vegas. Is this true?

C'mon, did you really need to post that obvious prank here? The sentence in Wikipedia says the GA Dome was destroyed. Please simply scroll up and look at the picture.

That sentence and many other comments in Wikipedia, should make you think about how reliable the information is that is provided there.