Einstein seating: possible solution

[Mark Sheridan]

This is probably to far west for most teams but the Anaheim Convention Center has a stadium attached that does not have a major sports team. It only seat 9,100 people but the only times this stadium is used is for NCAA basket ball early in the tournament. The great thing is that it is across from disneyland.

So maybe it is not ideal for championships but I thinking if California ever did a state championship, this would be a great place (and probably expensive).

There has to be a few more convention centers like this one around the country with an unused stadium attached. Perhaps a stadium affiliated more with college sports?

[JaneYoung]

Perhaps FIRST should build its own venue (or 2 or 3).

Jane

[dodar]

Thats what FIRST could do. Build 3 arenas to the same spec to what it needs to fit CMP perfectly, put one on the East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest. And then have a rotating CMP. Like 2012 would be East > 2013 would be Midwest > 2014 would be West >2015 would be East > etc... And you would try to keep them in line. Like East = Virginia, Midwest = Kansas, and West = California.

[J93Wagner]

Originally Posted by dodar

Thats what FIRST could do. Build 3 arenas to the same spec to what it needs to fit CMP perfectly, put one on the East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest. And then have a rotating CMP. Like 2012 would be East > 2013 would be Midwest > 2014 would be West >2015 would be East > etc... And you would try to keep them in line. Like East = Virginia, Midwest = Kansas, and West = California.

I like the idea, but it looks EXPENSIVE. And, alas, price is the sticking point on just about anything...

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by J93Wagner

I like the idea, but it looks EXPENSIVE. And, alas, price is the sticking point on just about anything...

Even so, it would be an awesome design challenge for minds that love to be challenged. It would also be a fun fundraiser challenge for those who love to be inspired by fundraising challenges. To add, it would be fun to incorporate the Going Green concept with respect to recycling, energy efficiency, and sustainability.

Jane

[Cory]

Originally Posted by dodar

Thats what FIRST could do. Build 3 arenas to the same spec to what it needs to fit CMP perfectly, put one on the East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest. And then have a rotating CMP. Like 2012 would be East > 2013 would be Midwest > 2014 would be West >2015 would be East > etc... And you would try to keep them in line. Like East = Virginia, Midwest = Kansas, and West = California.

Got $300,000,000?

The GWCC alone cost $350,000,000 to build. Granted you're not building the entire thing, but you want to build 2-3 halls of a convention center, plus a dome? That's probably $100,000,000 a pop.

[dodar]

Originally Posted by Cory

Got $300,000,000?

The GWCC alone cost $350,000,000 to build. Granted you're not building the entire thing, but you want to build 2-3 halls of a convention center, plus a dome? That's probably $100,000,000 a pop.

Or you could go with seeing if a college would want a CC next to their basketball arena? Have them use it along with FIRST, half the cost with the college and get some big sponsors you could drastically lower the cost. I mean you could check at like Virginia Tech, Univ. of Kansas, and Stanford.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by dodar

Or you could go with seeing if a college would want a CC next to their basketball arena? Have them use it along with FIRST, half the cost with the college and get some big sponsors you could drastically lower the cost. I mean you could check at like Virginia Tech, Univ. of Kansas, and Stanford.

Basketball arenas are really only big enough for one, maybe 2 fields. Most college arenas also don't seat more than 10k.

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by Cory

Got $300,000,000?

The GWCC alone cost $350,000,000 to build. Granted you're not building the entire thing, but you want to build 2-3 halls of a convention center, plus a dome? That's probably $100,000,000 a pop.

Just today the Minnesota Vikings agreed to build a multi-purpose restractable roof facility. The total cost: 1.057 billion; $884 million for the stadium and another $173 million for the infrastructure. Obviously FIRST's dream location wouldn't cost that much, but I can think of a better use of FIRST's money.

[MikeE]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Perhaps FIRST should build its own venue (or 2 or 3).

Jane

Perfect - let's give some travel love to New England teams and hold the Championships in Manchester, NH

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by JamesBrown

Wings haven't missed the playoffs since FIRST was founded, I can't imagine the Arena is going to book anything during playoffs until they are definitely out.

NHL/NBA playoffs knock out the majority of large capacity Basketball and Hockey venues.

NBA playoffs could be worked around if Championship was moved back to the same timeframe as it was in Atlanta. NHL playoffs cannot.

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Perhaps FIRST should build its own venue (or 2 or 3).

Jane

That would do what the rest of the year? Who's going to fund it? Who's going to give up land for it? Who's going to build the infrastructure around it that's needed to support it?

Arenas and convention centers are MASSIVE undertakings. And local governments don't approve them unless they can see them being beneficial to the local community and cost effective. The degres of this undertaking is truly something well beyond what FIRST has ever done.

They would need to find other tenants to share the venue with, design a venue that suits the needs of FIRST programs going forward but is still appealing for other uses, and find a location with the kind of infrastructure to support an FIRST Championship for a long, long time.

And then you ask them to do it in two or three different locations?

It sure is a nifty idea, but it's one that's completely beyond the scope of possibility for this program at this point in time.

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

That would do what the rest of the year? Who's going to fund it? Who's going to give up land for it? Who's going to build the infrastructure around it that's needed to support it?

Arenas and convention centers are MASSIVE undertakings. And local governments don't approve them unless they can see them being beneficial to the local community and cost effective. The degres of this undertaking is truly something well beyond what FIRST has ever done.

They would need to find other tenants to share the venue with, design a venue that suits the needs of FIRST programs going forward but is still appealing for other uses, and find a location with the kind of infrastructure to support an FIRST Championship for a long, long time.

And then you ask them to do it in two or three different locations?

It sure is a nifty idea, but it's one that's completely beyond the scope of possibility for this program at this point in time.

Agreed. If the Minnesota Vikings, who offered to put down $300 million dollars to pay for a stadium, which would result in millions of dollars of revenue for the city and state (unlike a FIRST stadium), can't get enough tax payer support, there is no way FIRST will be able to get funding for a stadium, let along 2 or 3.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

It sure is a nifty idea, but it's one that's completely beyond the scope of possibility for this program at this point in time.

Think of it this way, Sean. It's a dream. An idea for big dreamers. 20 years ago, did the original teams envision that in 20 years we would be talking about a space crunch for the Championship event? Were they able to envision a dome venue maxed out with fields demands and the space demands required for a big name band?

Even as a dream, isn't it fun to think of a place that would be established by the FIRST program but that others would love to use because of its adaptability, technical prowess and innovation, and awesome capabilities? Yes, that is a lot of fun.

It may be frustrating for those who want to problem-solve with a points system and removing 3rd alliance partners or the RAS qualification. I understand and respect that type of thinking but when faced with large problems, I always see it as an opportunity to dream big. Really big. There is never any harm in dreaming. Heck, I never dreamed I'd be involved in FIRST for as long as I have, much less watching it expand as it has in recent years.

I apologize to our OP for derailing this thread. Please go back to realistic problem-solving and solutions.

Jane

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by MikeE

Perfect - let's give some travel love to New England teams and hold the Championships in Manchester, NH

TOOO Cold!

[Alex Dinsmoor]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Perhaps FIRST should build its own venue (or 2 or 3).

Jane

That's something the Boy Scouts do for their National Jamboree every 4 years. Previous to 2013, the BSA had the Jamboree at various places within the nation, most recently Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. In 2013 they are moving to their newest camp "Summit" in West Virginia.
BSA found that it would be simpler to own their own land for such a large event, enabling them to make the Jamboree even better than it already is. There is no reason why FIRST couldn't benefit from the same thing.


It may not be a feasible thing for FIRST to do at this point, but as the program grows, it would make more and more sense to build a FIRST dome for CMP and other robotics events (such as regionals, non FRC events, Vex events, etc...).

Another thing to look at is teaming up with a company/city who is building a dome/convention center to make a perfect FIRST location!