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DCI Minnesota--Change of Plans


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I just received an email from DCI stating that TCF Bank Stadium will not be available for DCI Minnesota on July 16.

"Drum Corps International has been informed that the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium will not be available for our DCI Premier event, originally scheduled for Saturday, July 16, 2016.

We've been working with University of Minnesota Athletics to find an alternative arrangement which would cause the least amount of inconvenience to our competing units and their loyal supporters like you. We're currently working on a modified event at the same location on Friday, July 15, 2016, however we regret that we have not yet been able to finalize the plan to address the sizable logistical challenges in staging the competition on campus on a Friday afternoon.

We are working to complete our discussions with university officials by Friday, May 6. Once we have an approved agreement in place, you'll be among the first to be advised of the details relating to the DCI Minnesota event.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause, and we appreciate your patience and continued support as we work to provide an exceptional experience for our performers and fans alike."

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If the university is that stupid to kick out a $100k event so it's own football coach can run a day camp, then UM needs to be taken off the list of future prospective venues, especially since this is the second time it's happened.

And shame on DCI for moving forward with the summer tour schedule without a contract from a university that's burned them in the past.

..... The only positive thing to come out of this is that I've learned that UM's mascot is a gopher.... sorry. A golden gopher.

Edited by chaddyt
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Salient points from the article:

For the second time in two years, a traveling marching band show has been bumped from the University of Minnesota’s football stadium, and organizers are crying foul. In 2014, the U Athletics Department forced Drum Corps International to give up its slot to make way for a free concert. Auditors later slammed the decision, which cost the university an estimated $125,000 in lost revenue.

Last month, the university told the same group that it would have to move its July 16 event, this time to make room for a private football camp run by coach Tracy Claeys. The change is expected to cost the university tens of thousands of dollars in lost rent and disrupt a popular traveling tour, with thousands of student musicians, once again. University officials say they mistakenly double-booked the facility last fall and didn’t discover the problem until months later.

The group thought it had a lock on the stadium for July 12, 2014...But six months after the group had requested the day, the university “asked us to move our date,” he said. It turned out that Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game was in town that weekend, and planners wanted to host a free Imagine Dragons concert at the U stadium. The Athletics Department agreed to host the concert, rent-free, in exchange for a suite at the baseball game for then-athletic director Norwood Teague and about 50 guests.

Last fall, in the wake of Teague’s ouster in a sex harassment scandal, university auditors criticized the deal as an example of poor oversight, saying it had cost the university more than $125,000 in lost revenue. The decision also forced Drum Corps International to move its event to two smaller venues, which cut into its ticket sales, according to Turner. He estimated that cost the national and local groups about $80,000 in lost revenue.

Last summer, the event returned to TCF Stadium, and organizers put in their request for 2016 last August, according to e-mails provided by the group. Initially, university officials hedged on making a commitment, but on Dec. 2, McGinnis wrote: “We are fine to proceed with your event slated for July 16, 2016, at TCF Bank Stadium.” But McGinnis said that, because of a mix-up, he was unaware that in September the football camp had requested that same date. He noted that, every summer, the head football coach runs a series of private camps at the university for high school and younger students.

This year, the camp will pay about $600 a day to rent the stadium, McGinnis said. Last year, the Drum Corps paid $96,000 to use the facility, including $42,000 in rent and ticketing fees. Asked why he would choose the camps over the Drum Corps, McGinnis said it’s only natural for the university to give preference to the athletic program. “Camps are an important part of running a sports program,” McGinnis said. “Our priority is to support our athletic departments.”

Drum Corps organizers say they’re not challenging the value of the football camps. But they say they’ve been frustrated by the university’s wavering. “It’s a mess right now,” Turner said.

He (Dan A.) also acknowledged that his own group (DCI) could be faulted, too, for moving ahead without a signed contract for the stadium date.

“It’s shame on us, right?” he said. “Shame on you if it happens once, shame on us if it happens twice. That’s really what it is. … We took the word that we’re in good shape way back in December. We thought we had this and it wasn’t going to be an issue.”

___________

In reading comments that went with the article, one poster had a good point: If the stadium was paid for with public funds, then it would seem a better use of the stadium to serve the 8,000 attendees rather than a couple hundred campers (if that). $600 for rent vs $96,000 for rent? Seems like a no-brainer. Also, this is 2016. How can they not see do scheduling on a computer which would flag them if an event was already on the docket?

I agree that, assuming the rent is not cost prohibitive, the new Vikings stadium would be a better choice, AND it weather would be a non-issue. There have been weather issues at the U. of Minnesota stadium before.

Edited by wolfgang
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Well at least the StarTribune has the matter as their lead story this morning, right up there with Presidential contenders, the Economy, and World Peace.

Do you all remember when U MN was so excited to get DCI the first year so that they could learn from the experience of having so many in the stadium including the tornado warnings?

And I guess the Systems Blue workshop held annually the day before the Regional is also bumped too or are Blue Devils even more special?

Woe-begone isn't just a lake in Minnesota it seems.

Edited by xandandl
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Yeah, if DCI wants to save face from the whole "fool me once, fool me twice" situation; they would be in contact with UW. It's been a while since a major DCI show has been in Camp Randall. I'm sure a lot of drum corps fans would love to see DCI return to that venue.

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