Future DCA Championships.

[wishbonecav]

Scranton?

Chicago?

Franklin Field?

Have you people lost your minds?

The reason to be in Scranton, with the SS guards, lack of hotel space, limited scenery and flimsy crowds, is marching down "the hill"? Was that post even real?

Franklin Field? Two words come to mind quickly: 'traffic' and 'dump'. Yes, the stadium is "still there". On inspection it looks like termites holding hands.

Chicago? Is that like "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound?"

Rochester has DCA Championship heritage back to 1974.

Rochester has the largest crowd EVER for DCA (1996).

Rochester 2007 was goal line to goal line.

Rochester has the GRVA.

Rochester has regional proximity to more than 1/2 the corps and several alumni groups.

If you are going to toss around possibilities, PLEASE keep an eye on the "big" picture instead of a pipedream for your corps whose fans "deserve" to have Championships closer to them and blah, blah, blah.

DCA has been and always will be (ALWAYS WILL BE) a northeast gig.

DCA has always been a Labor Day gig.

DCA can't afford to roll the dice with its core audience. IT MUST CATER TO THE PAYING CUSTOMERS who, amazingly, show up in Rochester year after year.

DCA has established relationships with some municipalities and scorched earth with others.

Put it all together and there are only two TRUE alternatives to Upstate New York (Rochester-Buffalo-Syracuse) for DCA Finals.

They are: Kingston (wish it was bigger, prettier and more accessible) and Hershey (no way they submit for 2010).

Runners up: Bridgeport (just doesn't have DCA-size facilities though Connecticut is actually my 1st choice), Allentown (they hate us, don't they?)

Pray that Rochester ponies up again for 2010.

If not, Allen leaves pretty big shoes to fill and not a whole lotta places to fill them.

[kennadrin]

Scranton is real grass now, forget it. Maybe Hershey if they could be trusted

Well that means their out lol

Edited August 19, 2008 by kennadrin

[Jeff Ream]

Conversely, there are many DCA fans who would make the trip to Chicago who dont usually come out East.

a question. what was the attendance...real numbers please...of all of the shows outside the NE? Because if there shows weren't packing 3-4k each, it will be a tough sell to move away from places where you had 6-9k fans for finals every year.

hey, i'm crazy. i'd travel. but to think what the average attendance is out there will be filled in nicely with east coast folks, sorry, but you're wrong.

you do realize even here, is finals are in NY, thousands of people from Eastern PA, NJ, Eastern NY, New England and Delmarva wont go?

and if in Eastern PA, add Western NY in for people from Eastern PA, Nj and CT.

Hell, off the top of my head I can think of 250 people I know that haven't been to finals since it left PA. Add to that I can think of 150 people i see in Rochester I never saw in PA.

the DCI fan base out there won't help fill up seats. Most of them look down their noses at DCA. read the DCI reviews. Hell that's if they even review them at all. When the fan base out there is proven, by all means move it. I'm all for it. But if attendance at finals sucks, who gets hurt?

the corps. they get the money from that, not some show sponsor

[Jeff Ream]

I wanted to ask these questions again...

DCA finals has been held in New Jersey, right? How was that?

Remember when Winston-Salem submitted a bid? They had a show there in 2005 and were pretty fired up to have finals there the following year. I went to the show there and, as I remember, it was a pretty cool stadium. I wonder if anyone has tried approaching them again?

Any thoughts?

Nj...dunno where to go now, Roosevelt Stadium is history. Princeton or Rutgers maybe, but then you deal with school being in and football conflicts.

Meadowlands? Giants, Jets, and, IMO ###### sound for a finals venue. i'd rather go back to frontier Field and that's saying a lot

[Jeff Ream]

What don't you agree with in his post? anything? Bueller? Bueller?

Give me a break

me??

[84BDsop]

Rochester has DCA Championship heritage back to 1974.

California had over 20 DCI championship winners across three divisions before it FINALLY came out west in 07.....no one location has an exclusive heritage claim.

Rochester has the largest crowd EVER for DCA (1996).

Rochester 2007 was goal line to goal line.

The same could be said of DCI 07....especially the goal to goal part

Rochester has regional proximity to more than 1/2 the corps and several alumni groups.

That one's not an arguable point....more a statement of fact.

If you are going to toss around possibilities, PLEASE keep an eye on the "big" picture instead of a pipedream for your corps whose fans "deserve" to have Championships closer to them and blah, blah, blah.

DCA has been and always will be (ALWAYS WILL BE) a northeast gig.

DCA has always been a Labor Day gig.

DCA can't afford to roll the dice with its core audience. IT MUST CATER TO THE PAYING CUSTOMERS who, amazingly, show up in Rochester year after year.

DCA has established relationships with some municipalities and scorched earth with others.

Put it all together and there are only two TRUE alternatives to Upstate New York (Rochester-Buffalo-Syracuse) for DCA Finals.

They are: Kingston (wish it was bigger, prettier and more accessible) and Hershey (no way they submit for 2010).

Runners up: Bridgeport (just doesn't have DCA-size facilities though Connecticut is actually my 1st choice), Allentown (they hate us, don't they?)

Pray that Rochester ponies up again for 2010.

Emphasis mine.....and THAT particular phrase pretty much betrays a certain arrogance coming...is it any wonder then that some people are looking at alternates?

If someone in Chicago or elsewhere wishes to submit a bid, let 'em....but don't stoot them down and insult their intelligent for doing so.

[Jeff Ream]

agreed, trashing other areas does no good. Hey I liked Scranton...the bar, close to home...but it had flaws. Same with Allentown, plus it didn't have a bar.

Paetec has gown on me. still has flaws, but it's pretty good. if it could be moved 3 hours closer i'd rave!

[pvt_cairns]

Scranton?

Chicago?

Franklin Field?

Have you people lost your minds?

The reason to be in Scranton, with the SS guards, lack of hotel space, limited scenery and flimsy crowds, is marching down "the hill"? Was that post even real?

Franklin Field? Two words come to mind quickly: 'traffic' and 'dump'. Yes, the stadium is "still there". On inspection it looks like termites holding hands.

Chicago? Is that like "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound?"

Rochester has DCA Championship heritage back to 1974.

Rochester has the largest crowd EVER for DCA (1996).

Rochester 2007 was goal line to goal line.

Rochester has the GRVA.

Rochester has regional proximity to more than 1/2 the corps and several alumni groups.

If you are going to toss around possibilities, PLEASE keep an eye on the "big" picture instead of a pipedream for your corps whose fans "deserve" to have Championships closer to them and blah, blah, blah.

DCA has been and always will be (ALWAYS WILL BE) a northeast gig.

DCA has always been a Labor Day gig.

DCA can't afford to roll the dice with its core audience. IT MUST CATER TO THE PAYING CUSTOMERS who, amazingly, show up in Rochester year after year.

DCA has established relationships with some municipalities and scorched earth with others.

Put it all together and there are only two TRUE alternatives to Upstate New York (Rochester-Buffalo-Syracuse) for DCA Finals.

They are: Kingston (wish it was bigger, prettier and more accessible) and Hershey (no way they submit for 2010).

Runners up: Bridgeport (just doesn't have DCA-size facilities though Connecticut is actually my 1st choice), Allentown (they hate us, don't they?)

Pray that Rochester ponies up again for 2010.

If not, Allen leaves pretty big shoes to fill and not a whole lotta places to fill them.

DCA has a heritage in Rochester since 1974 / Drum corps from around the world have performed in Chicago since 1929.

Rochester has had the biggest DCA crowd ever in 1996. That was 12 years ago...aren't these things supposed to get bigger, not smaller?

2007 was goal line to goal line, I'm sure other corps home show from around the country could boast the same thing.

Rocherter has regional proximity to 1/2 of the corps, sooo the other half don't count. Nice

DCA has alwys been a labor day gig /....and? We can't find another field in the entire united states open on larbor day?

DCA must cater to the fans. Valid, but there are many, many fans outside the north east, but it is a gamble to move too far away. Keep in mind out of state fans do travel to DCA now, why can't fans from the East caost? But point taken, it is a money thing first and foremost.

DCA has established relationships, and scorched others. So how did they make those relationships to begin with? By going there. It dosen't just happen overnight, and no one expects it to.

DCA is now and will always be a NE gig / silly arrogent nonsence that propogates the idea (even though I know it's not true) that non Eastern corps don't matter.

Now before I get ripped, Rochester did an awesome job last year, logistics were taken care of, housing available, practice facilities (though the ground in Rochseter was like the surface of Mars in places lol) I&E, the local authorities, planning done to a T. To use the phrase (and God I hate it) it really did go off without a hitch (theres $1 for someone in there I'm sure). The issue I have is that if we allow DCA to stay on the E. coast, how is it supposed to grow? Leave out the money that other corps would save, and look at the big picture for the orginization. It will stagnate, as it has done for years. The problem is we have no idea what would happen if we did move it. And that's a make or break type of gamble. So your kind of between a rock and a hard place.

So hear's the way I see this going down in the very near future (10 years)

A. Real live DCA circuts start to develop around the country, Mid west needs 3 or more real corps, same with the south, and the West needs 4-5 before anything can really be done. Real divisional titles, real compotition, real money for DCA to expand and move farter west then Philly. With more and more corps popping up this is encouraging.

B. The more likley of the 2. Gas prices climb to a point where even succsessful (from a monotary standpoint) western corps can't afford to travel. The signs that this is comming will be the sytematic failings of smaller, less funded corps. Now this may seem a bit apocolyptic, but most jr and non Eastern DCA corps already have fuel costs that match or exceed their equiptment food and staff costs. If something isn't done, and soon drum corps in general will start to feel it very soon.

[VOReason]

Tampa Bay would favor the Hurricanes - not the corps from CT - just the Hurricanes.

And as we can all attest, there is never the slightest chance of a hurricane in Rochester, NY!!

[JohnZ]

I wanted to ask these questions again...

DCA finals has been held in New Jersey, right? How was that?

Remember when Winston-Salem submitted a bid? They had a show there in 2005 and were pretty fired up to have finals there the following year. I went to the show there and, as I remember, it was a pretty cool stadium. I wonder if anyone has tried approaching them again?

Any thoughts?

If I recall the discussion from back then, the W-S show was a 'test' to see whether the city could potentially be a candidate for finals - or maybe a large regional show, can't recall. Anyway, it looked promising, but the actual attendance was well below expectations. of course the weather didn't help. But the attempt fizzled.