2009 Philadelphia Regional

[Akash Rastogi]

Can't wait to be there. Looks like 56 and 87 will be joining us. I'm hoping for a really fun time as it will be my first time at Philly.

here's the list of teams attending.

See you all there and good luck!

[Akash Rastogi]

Some competition that I can see as of 10/18/08 (these are a bit biased b/c I don't know many of the area teams)

11- MORT- Marauders
56- Robbe Xtreme
304- Robo Griffins
316- LuNaTeCs
341- Miss Daisy
395- 2 Train Robotics
486- Positronic Panthers
834- SparTechs
2234- The Reverend

Just waiting on some regulars like 103, 365, 816, 272.. This regional should be outstanding.

[Roger]

Team 1153 from Walpole Mass is coming to Philly! Any suggestions for hotels close by (walking distance)? And (non-robotic) excitement, of course! Can't wait for a soft pretzel.

[vic burg]

I would love to come up and volunteer for the event!!!!
Except, I am not sure where it is going to be held. Is it still going to be at Drexel this upcoming year?
Would someone please let me know?

[JudyVandy]

Chuck's coming, but he won't be at Drexel this year. He's heard we're traveling over to Temple. (Construction at Drexel is taking over his parking spot.)

[DUCKIE]

As Judy said, due to construction that will be going on at Drexel this spring the Philadelphia Regional has been relocated. So instead of the D.A.C., the 2009 Philadelphia Regional will be held at the Liacouras Center Arena. (Event is not listed on the Arena's calendar yet though.)

Also, Instead of the fifth week of competition, the Philadelphia Regional will be the fourth week, March 18 - 21th.

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For those of you who like to research the area... (and find good directions ahead of time so they do not get horribly lost like me) ... the arena website and address are below.

http://www.liacourascenter.com/

Liacouras Center on 1776 N. Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19121
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[Roger]

Originally Posted by DUCKY

As Judy said, due to construction that will be going on at Drexel this spring the Philadelphia Regional has been relocated. So instead of the D.A.C., the 2009 Philadelphia Regional will be held at the Liacouras Center Arena. (Event is not listed on the Arena's calendar yet though.)

Wait -- what??!? And FIRST is planning on telling us when?

The 2009 FRC Regional event info points to 2008's Drexel University. No indication of a site change.

[DUCKIE]

Originally Posted by Roger

The 2009 FRC Regional event info points to 2008's Drexel University. No indication of a site change.

An update of the Philadelphia First's Web page with the information for 2009 is in the works.

I noticed the lack of venue-change information myself when checking on teams attending last night, thus my post this morning when I noticed people starting to talk about hotels and the like.

[talltree357]

Hi all,
First of all as a Temple student I am excited that the Philly Regional is returning to the Liacouras Center! Second to give some teams a bit of heads up that have traveled to the Philadelphia Regional in the past but aren't familiar with Temple's area. We are located in farther up north in Philadelphia that University City. Also, there is only a small hotel located on campus named the Conwell Inn. This has 22 rooms available and I am sure they will fill up quickly. However, it is very easy to commute to Temple via the Broad St. Line subway system or Regional Rail. The former being the cheaper, the latter being more accommodating if you need to carry more equipment. Odds are many teams who are traveling to this regional from a distance and can't get a room at the Conwell Inn will stay in center city. It is about a 15 minute commute from city hall. If you have any other questions feel free to p.m. me or ask here.

-Joe

[.:Brianna:.]

the firebirds will be attending this year (when we get money haha oh jeeze)

you could get a hotel around 30th street station and take any of the regional lines to the temple station (ill be taking the train too).

definitely do the whole philadelphia tourism thing...franklin institute, art museum, science museum, mutter museum, independence hall, city hall, constitution center, duck boat.

as for the temple area, there are a lot of good, cheap places to eat. i spent all summer at temple and its easy to navigate.

-brianna

ps. hi joe!!!!

[vic burg]

Originally Posted by Roger

Wait -- what??!? And FIRST is planning on telling us when?

The 2009 FRC Regional event info points to 2008's Drexel University. No indication of a site change.

I agree!!!!
But does that mean that it is going to be there from now on? Because, I know that there are contracts and such.

[Ashley Weed]

I don't understand why it won't be hosted at Drexel, yes parking is currently a pain at Drexel now, but obviously the DAC will be used at the same time for Basketball, and while being in use it is no different if we use it too in March.

Temple is not a very good area of the city, and bringing in thousands of young high school students does not seem to be the brightest idea I have seen FIRST take.

There are plenty of other options in Philadelphia including the convention center and the arena in South Philly that would of been more convenient to things such as hotels, restaurants, parking and activities.

[DUCKIE]

As mentioned in other posts... the D.A.C. will be under construction in March of 2009. That is why it is not being held at Drexel this year.

I know that the Philadelphia Regional Crew looked at a number of arenas, convention centers, and gymnasiums in and around Philadelphia before settling on the Liacouras Center Arena. Keep in mind that they are working within a budget, and venues may already be booked, and not able or not willing to accommodate the requirements of a regional.

I'm going to miss the "snugness" of the D.A.C. myself, (and making runs to the 7-11 for taquitos or whatever they are called) but hopefully the construction will give us additional, and much needed; seating for the 2010 Philadelphia Regional.

[Roger]

To get beyond The Great Unexpected Change and back to my main question, what area of Philly should we look for hotels? I'm guessing we'll be taking the Broad St Line (or do you guys call it the Orange Line?) to get to the arena. I'm also guessing we'll be doing Amtrak, so a hotel easy to both would be good.

I don't know what time we'll get into town, so maybe Wednesday eve to blow off some steam, and Thursday and Friday eves also. .:Brianna:. put in some good suggestions -- c'mon, make a case for your Phine Phavorite Phoggy Philly* destination!

Hows the subway for herding ~30 high schoolers? We managed Boston's subway with plenty of adults but not at rush hour -- how's rush hour? And probably 40 other teams crushing in?

Originally Posted by Ashley Weed

Temple is not a very good area of the city...

I was afraid of something like this. I'm hoping it doesn't mean it's horrible. I've lived in "watch your back" parts of Brooklyn and found for the most part it mostly harmless... if you watched your back.

*Sorry, I didn't do 1776 in high school, so I don't know the exact words!

[Kyle]

Temple is a great area, as long as you are in the area of the school and convention center, where FIRST will be. The Temple security is great and they add more on during large events such as this. It won't be the same as before being able to be out side playing games and such but I think that we can deal with that for a year while the DAC is being rebuilt and made even better for the 2010 regional.