Location Suggestion for 2010 Championship

[waialua359]

Well believe me,
if it could happen in Hawaii, that would be great!
Who knows,
We've been told by certain FIRST officials in the past that it was impossible to have a Hawaii regional over the years, and with the support of other FIRST officials, NASA, our State Government, BAE Systems and fellow Hawaii/mainland teams, we proved them wrong!

Lets start the push now!!

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by dwaynetrip3119

Cobo arena in detroit will be a good idea. Detroit hosts so many huge events such as Wrestle Mania 21, The Super Bowl and The final four. Those events are at for field but at Cobo, the north american auto show is hosted there every year. There are two huge places in Detroit where it can be hosted.

No, JLA is not big enough. There's only 20000 seats total, and you can't fit 4 FRC fields, 2 FTC fields and 12 FLL tables on a hockey rink. They would fit at Ford Field, but there's no adjoining convention center for the pits. And there's no place for 20000+ fans to sit in Cobo.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by EricH

Is there a building large enough for the pits nearby? (I.E., closer than the Astrodome to the Reliant.) If not, then it isn't feasible, unless there's a LOT of empty space in the stadium.

Yeah, I suppose you could do a tent village for the pits, but anyone who went to a pre-2003 Championship will probably not be happy at the suggestion.

How come? I thought the tents were pretty cool in 2002 (my only year I went to Epcot). FIRST has grown far too large for it to work going forward though.

I have no knowledge of the bid process for the championship but I suspect it's too late for any newcomers. If it's leaving Atlanta I'd have to imagine FIRST already has a preferred location and negotiations with the city are under way.

I also suspect it's not going much if any farther west than Atlanta. Leaving the middle of the country makes it much more difficult for the majority of teams to get there.

[Laaba 80]

Originally Posted by Cory

I also suspect it's not going much if any farther west than Atlanta. Leaving the middle of the country makes it much more difficult for the majority of teams to get there.

Im not sure I understand where you are coming from here. Atlanta isnt even close to the middle of the country. Do you mean the middle of the FIRST community?
Joey

[ttldomination]

OR!!!!


WE STAY AT THE GEORGIA DOME!!!!!

[Astarties]

Originally Posted by Cory

I also suspect it's not going much if any farther west than Atlanta. Leaving the middle of the country makes it much more difficult for the majority of teams to get there.

Umm, last I checked, Atlanta was not in the middle of the country.

It's too bad you need stadium seats for an event like this. The Las Vegas Convention Center could handle it easy. Over 3,200,000 square feet.

[artdutra04]

Do you think this would be a feasible idea?

In short, no.

While you may be able to fit all of the teams, pits, etc. either in their new stadium or in the parking lots around it, it would not be feasible to host the Championships there. Do a search on Google Maps for "hotels near Dallas Cowboys New Stadium". There is no way you can fit 30,000 people in hotels within walking distance, since there is only two hotels within a one mile radius.

Now you can expand this radius if the stadium is along a public transit route, as hotels around all nearby stations/stops are all feasible if there is a discount given to FIRST teams (as there is in Atlanta with MARTA). Since I can see no obvious high-capacity public transit rail lines near the stadium, I cannot feasibly see a way where this would be possible (short of setting up dozens of shuttle buses on a continuous loop), which would be a very expensive and time consuming burden.

Now regardless of one's opinions of Atlanta, the city is perfectly situated to host the Championships. They have a large stadium with more adjacent convention center space than one can shake a stick at. The stadium is right in a downtown area with dozens of hotels within a one mile walking distance. In addition, the GA Dome has its own MARTA station, greatly expanding the feasible hotel radius. Atlanta is generally warm during April, and is also a major hub for many [International] airlines (which can lead to cheaper plane ticket prices).

Now in the past, Disney also suited these goals well: They had plenty of hotel space, a dedicated high capacity bus/monorail transit system, a warm climate, located in popular destination (Orlando) only a short 20 minute drive from an International Airport, and the fact that it was Walt Disney World definitely helped. But FIRST kind of outgrew the temporary tents they would have to build in the Epcot parking lot, so FIRST had to look elsewhere... :-/

[mikecombes]

San diego chargers stadium. would be awsome to go there and see their team lol. (san diego fan so yea)

[synth3tk]

I know this thread is for mentioning serious suggestions (whether FIRST sees them or not) but I'd like to throw Cleveland in.

Only issue we would have is weather. It's very unpredictable. Otherwise, it's no less an option than some of the others posted here, sans Disney. You can't beat Disney.

We just had a $200-million renovation of a major street (Euclid Avenue), including downtown Cleveland itself. We've got the Cleveland Convention Center, with multiple hotels in the immediate area, some within walking distance, others on the public transportation route.

It's near the lake, has a large indoor shopping center (in walking distance), Gund Arena (I refuse to change!), Jacob's Field (Never!), the Brown's Stadium (nobody wants to touch it, lol), AND, The Great Lakes Science Center.

Actually, after typing this up, it doesn't seem like that bad of an idea...

[hallk]

I'm a bag fan of having it at Indy. Just look at all the spectators that IRI draws. I think more teams would be able to come and watch even if they cn't compete in the Championship. Plus Indy doesn't have as big of a homeless problem as Atlanta.

[nuggetsyl]

I know the cd world lives and dies in the midwest. But the champs in indy is a bad idea. Plane tickets alone would be 4 times what they are now. In fact there would not be enough seats on planes to get teams to indy for the champs. example are for flights on 15th wed apr 2009 nonstop flights

from and to- total seat for the day

ewr to ind 314
ewr to mco 1537 from cal 750 from jet blue
ewr to alt 744 for cal 1754 from delta 685 from airtran

If first went to indy then unless you drove you are not going to champs. I have been working in the airline industry for 8 year now there are not enough seats.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by nuggetsyl

I know the cd world lives and dies in the midwest. But the champs in indy is a bad idea. Plane tickets alone would be 4 times what they are now. In fact there would not be enough seats on planes to get teams to indy for the champs. example are for flights on 15th wed apr 2009 nonstop flights

from and to- total seat for the day

ewr to ind 314
ewr to mco 1537 from cal 750 from jet blue
ewr to alt 744 for cal 1754 from delta 685 from airtran

If first went to indy then unless you drove you are not going to champs. I have been working in the airline industry for 8 year now there are not enough seats.

These numbers only reflect non-stop flights. We host many conventions several times larger than FIRST every year. We just had 50,000 FFA kids in town.

[Andy Baker]

Originally Posted by nuggetsyl

I know the cd world lives and dies in the midwest. But the champs in indy is a bad idea. Plane tickets alone would be 4 times what they are now. In fact there would not be enough seats on planes to get teams to indy for the champs. example are for flights on 15th wed apr 2009 nonstop flights

from and to- total seat for the day

ewr to ind 314
ewr to mco 1537 from cal 750 from jet blue
ewr to alt 744 for cal 1754 from delta 685 from airtran

If first went to indy then unless you drove you are not going to champs. I have been working in the airline industry for 8 year now there are not enough seats.

Keep trying to knock down Indianapolis, Sean, but your flight costs are simply NOT TRUE.

I fly out of Indy often and get reasonable rates. Within the past year, I have had these rates:

Indy to Manchester, round trip (1 layover): $180
Indy to Miami, round trip (1 layover): $190
Indy to Vegas, round trip (direct): $200

Also, if anyone flies in and out of Indy now, they will notice a brand new airport. Not a remodeled airport... a new airport that just opened last week.

Indy hosts the NCAA final four every 3-4 years.
Indy hosts the largest single-day sporting event in the world each year (Indy 500, where 300,000 people attend).
Indy will host the NFL Super Bowl in 2012.

If the passenger volumes of incoming and outgoing flights from IND can handle those events, they can handle the FIRST Championships.

Andy B.

[Madison]

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

Keep trying to knock down Indianapolis, Sean, but your flight costs are simply NOT TRUE.

I fly out of Indy often and get reasonable rates. Within the past year, I have had these rates:

Indy to Manchester, round trip (1 layover): $180
Indy to Miami, round trip (1 layover): $190
Indy to Vegas, round trip (direct): $200

Also, if anyone flies in and out of Indy now, they will notice a brand new airport. Not a remodeled airport... a new airport that just opened last week.

Indy hosts the NCAA final four every 3-4 years.
Indy hosts the largest single-day sporting event in the world each year (Indy 500, where 300,000 people attend).
Indy will host the NFL Super Bowl in 2012.

If the passenger volumes of incoming and outgoing flights from IND can handle those events, they can handle the FIRST Championships.

Andy B.

Andy, Sean's numbers aren't airfare, but the number of seats available flying to Indianapolis on direct flights from the cities he listed. There might be some confusion there.

For what it's worth to others, EWR is Newark (or Liberty...) International Airport and MCO is McCoy Orlando International Airport.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by Madison

Andy, Sean's numbers aren't airfare, but the number of seats available flying to Indianapolis on direct flights from the cities he listed. There might be some confusion there.

For what it's worth to others, EWR is Newark (or Liberty...) International Airport and MCO is McCoy Orlando International Airport.

Yes, but he also said plane tickets alone would be 4 times as much which is absolutely not true.