The ideal place for the FRC Championships?

[MikeDubreuil]

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

Why have the cruise ships all leave from the same place? What if you had 1 leaving from LA, one from New Orleans, One from Miami, and one from Boston. The teams would play, and the ships would meet at New Orleans for the finals. Then FIRST would have chartered planes from New Orleans back to the origin of the ships.

It cuts down on travel costs for people, because you only have to get to 1 of 4 major cities.

This quite frankly, is the best idea I have ever heard. This solves so many logistical problems this solution simply can't be ignored.

1.) Food - 3 meals a day, and cruise food is REALLY good.
2.) Security - safety concerns posed by major cities are a non-issue.
3.) Stage - Most cruise ships come with an auditorium. All FIRST would have to do is bring the field and maybe some lighting.
4.) Hotels - every room is within walking distance.
5.) Transportation - once you're on the ship, you're there. Remember the student who was hit by a car several years ago?
6.) Team party - the whole boat is a party.

Only problems I see are pits: I'm not sure exactly how this could be handled. Perhaps there's room somewhere.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

[On a cruise ship]...Only problems I see are pits: I'm not sure exactly how this could be handled. Perhaps there's room somewhere.

Unless you want to use a stateroom, the only place that strikes me as remotely reasonable for pits would be the sun deck, or maybe the jogging track on one of the larger ships. I'm thinking the aircraft carrier idea would work better.

[Wetzel]

Any city would LOVE to have 20,000 young adults come and spend a few days. The tax revenue is enormous.
Tourist destinations make for cheaper flights and hotel rooms. Huzzah for capitalistic competition.

Security in DC is not THAT tight for most places, including the Smithsonian. At the Air&Space museum, friends had their Kershaws, but were only turned away because one of them had his Kukrari (almost a machete). No one will get arrested for having a screwdriver.

Whats this Senior Trip you speak of? Most of the school groups that take the tours and such of the museums are far younger, I did mine during elementary and middle school. Far to many places have standardized tests that are far more important then frivolous things like going to the Air and Space Museum. (I don't like that new rolleyes)

DC is indeed crowded in April, for that is prime weather time. The Cherry Blossoms also tend to bloom around then, and that is the most crowed time of them all.

That said, there is no real good location here to host nationals. There are places to hold a regional, but nothing large enough to host the Championship. Unless you setup like Epcots parking lot, but on the Mall. The exposure there would be HUGE, as would the costs, but the PR would be enormous.


Wetzel

[suneel112]

About Big Cities... The big city closest to my home (2 hrs drive) is definitely Chicago. Chicago would, in theory, make a perfect place to hold the FIRST event. Nice beaches, theme parks, expensive restaurants, night life, large conference centers, the world's busiest airport (means good, affordable transportation), but only one problem: Weather.

In a year like 1998, Chicago would have been a perfect place to hold a championship competition, but more recently, it has been cold and rainy, not FIRST-like weather. So that leaves the South. Texas is nice (too conservative, though), Atlanta is also pretty good, and Orlando is also a great place to have the competition. California also has good weather, a good atmosphere, resources, and fun places, but air fares from the midwest and east coast are expensive.

When thinking about Foreign places, good places would be Japan, Australia, Brazil, and Italy. Even if a team has enough $$$$ for airfares, you have to ask yourself "Is the water safe to drink" "Are items expensive [Europe]" and "What countries would want 30,000 Americans, or foreigners, to be in their home". I would completely rule out the entire Middle East, unless there are 15 Ohio-class Submarines stationed in the Arabian Sea. The Middle East is NOT a safe place for a FIRST competition unless you threaten to turn their land into glass if someone is hurt. Someday, in the future, I am hoping that the championship event will be in India. Good weather, modernized cities (if you pick the correct one, such as Bangalore and Hyderabad [more to come]), and not to mention cheap airfare on me (wait until I'm a billionaire, though). Alright, its just a dream. Until then, Orlando.

[tkwetzel]

Originally Posted by Michael R. Lee

.... if they moved Championships around the country, they would need to serious revise the rules to attend said competition. I'm not saying moving Championship around is bad but let's say a team from Florida qualifies to go that year but can not go cause they lack the money to get to L.A.! It is already sad enough that teams can not attend despite the fact they qualify.

If a team qualifies one year and is unable to attend, they should be one of the first teams able to go the next year, and that is what this whole tier thing is trying to do. I know that you might win a regional and be unable to go, but it will happen where ever the competition is, so why not move it around to give more people a chance.

Originally Posted by Wetzel

That said, there is no real good location here to host nationals. There are places to hold a regional, but nothing large enough to host the Championship. Unless you setup like Epcots parking lot, but on the Mall. The exposure there would be HUGE, as would the costs, but the PR would be enormous.

There are places in DC to hold the competition. Mostly there is the new convention center which is enormous (a little smaller than the GWCC). The MCI center is about a block away, but I don't think teams want to be carting there robot a block down city streets. Though I do agree that DC is very crowded in April.

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

Unless you want to use a stateroom, the only place that strikes me as remotely reasonable for pits would be the sun deck, or maybe the jogging track on one of the larger ships. I'm thinking the aircraft carrier idea would work better.

Or each team could get a room, down a long hall.

[Alex Pelan]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned New York City yet... the only problem is hotels are expensive. It would be cool if we coul hold it in the Madison Square Garden. But realistically, I'm cool with anything (and I've said this before) as long as it isn't Hartford.