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DCI – Can We look beyond the norm?:

At this time of year we all focus our attention on DCI finals week which is hosted in Indianapolis IN. While it's great for those who reside east of the Mississippi, it's not all that convenient to those who would love to see a live performance Finals Week of their favorite corps who live in the West. As it stands today those who live west of the Mississippi only get to see the early season shows and for the greater Texas area just up to the mid-way point of the season. Many of the shows get changed or revised as the corps move toward the East Coast push (post San Antonio Show) and focus on Finals week so many of the Corps shows are far different from what the West Fan base got to see live early in the season. Yes - things have improved with the FanNetwork and it has provided additional coverage for us West Fans but the overall impact of seeing a live drum corps show is just not there. The FanNetwork has improved and gives you a pretty good taste of how things are evolving but bottom line – THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A LIVE SHOW!!!

My suggestion for DCI:

Every 4 or 5 years host a DCI Finals in the West or West Coast. That gives ample time to prepare and plan ahead for a West DCI Finals. Possible locations could be the Alamodome San Antonio TX, Mile High Stadium Denver, Arlington TX, Stanford CA, Pasadena, CA, Levi Stadium, Santa Clara, CA, etc.... and the list goes on. The corps that normally host shows early in the season would be reversed and their show would be held later for that one year (again - either every 4th or 5th year such as Stanford/Denver/San Antonio). Right now the mid-west/East Corps have a dominance of their fans who come out to DCI INDY each year. Not so much for the Corps from the West (Blue Devils/SCV/Blue Knights/Mandarin/Academy/Pacific Crest/Crossmen/O Crusaders/Cascades/Troopers/etc…). By hosting DCI Finals West every 4 or 5th year it would allow the West Coast Corps an opportunity to have their fan base come to see their shows at the end of the season (versus early in the season when the shows are dirty and some cases not complete - i.e.; Stanford).

This seems like an easy compromise for DCI and it brings in a new fan base of West Coast or West Fans into DCI. In addition it would allow additional International fans to attend the DCI FINALS event (there's that "I" in DCI) from the Pacific Rim countries as well as the newer markets from the Latin based countries in North and South America.

Come on DCI -- Think out of the box. This is doable and expands your overall Fan Base.

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I'd suggest you take at the one of maybe 3 other topics about this that have popped up this season. It'll give some insight as to why DCI is probably sticking to Indy.

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Absolutely agree! Plus there is the added factor of much less likely storm threats out here on the frontier... lol

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Not sure why you refer to it as such, but Texas is not west. It is 1700 miles from San Antonio to Indianapolis, IN and 1700 miles from San Antonio to Stanford, CA (just to pick a couple of the locations you mentioned).

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DCI – Can We look beyond the norm?:

At this time of year we all focus our attention on DCI finals week which is hosted in Indianapolis IN. While it's great for those who reside east of the Mississippi, it's not all that convenient to those who would love to see a live performance Finals Week of their favorite corps who live in the West. As it stands today those who live west of the Mississippi only get to see the early season shows and for the greater Texas area just up to the mid-way point of the season. Many of the shows get changed or revised as the corps move toward the East Coast push (post San Antonio Show) and focus on Finals week so many of the Corps shows are far different from what the West Fan base got to see live early in the season. Yes - things have improved with the FanNetwork and it has provided additional coverage for us West Fans but the overall impact of seeing a live drum corps show is just not there. The FanNetwork has improved and gives you a pretty good taste of how things are evolving but bottom line – THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A LIVE SHOW!!!

My suggestion for DCI:

Every 4 or 5 years host a DCI Finals in the West or West Coast. That gives ample time to prepare and plan ahead for a West DCI Finals. Possible locations could be the Alamodome San Antonio TX, Mile High Stadium Denver, Arlington TX, Stanford CA, Pasadena, CA, Levi Stadium, Santa Clara, CA, etc.... and the list goes on. The corps that normally host shows early in the season would be reversed and their show would be held later for that one year (again - either every 4th or 5th year such as Stanford/Denver/San Antonio). Right now the mid-west/East Corps have a dominance of their fans who come out to DCI INDY each year. Not so much for the Corps from the West (Blue Devils/SCV/Blue Knights/Mandarin/Academy/Pacific Crest/Crossmen/O Crusaders/Cascades/Troopers/etc…). By hosting DCI Finals West every 4 or 5th year it would allow the West Coast Corps an opportunity to have their fan base come to see their shows at the end of the season (versus early in the season when the shows are dirty and some cases not complete - i.e.; Stanford).

This seems like an easy compromise for DCI and it brings in a new fan base of West Coast or West Fans into DCI. In addition it would allow additional International fans to attend the DCI FINALS event (there's that "I" in DCI) from the Pacific Rim countries as well as the newer markets from the Latin based countries in North and South America.

Come on DCI -- Think out of the box. This is doable and expands your overall Fan Base.

Umm...how do you reach this conclusion?

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Phoenix would be much safer, with the enclosed stadium.

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There are lots of logistics to consider. It's great that SCV and BD, and a few others, have the money and resources to come east and midwest each year, but many east and midwest corps do not always have that ability. It's also extremely hard on scheduling. Basically most of the shows have to be re-worked. Big regional shows get bumped up and others get moved back, and the same is true for local shows. And cost can be incredible for DCI. It all depends on what they get from the city.

Having said that, once every 5 years should be something DCI considers. Four years in Indy, one elsewhere, and so on.

But it would not always be west. I can definitely see Texas again. Dallas, San Antonio, maybe even Austin or Houston. Denver was a good site. Madison is awesome and I know they'd love to have us back. Akron (OH), I believe, needs to bid for a finals. That stadium is fantastic, as all of you can see from the early DCI Cinecast. Honestly, I'd love to see DCI on the blue turf of Boise State (ID). Great city, it's west, big enough I think (both the city and the stadium), but maybe the blue would be too much as a palette under the corps.

Edited by jwillis35
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