Most important stadium feature for DCI championships

[Peel Paint]

This poll question sprang from these two posts in the "Temperature remains issue in LOS" http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...129774&st=0 thread:

I do have one question... is anyone ACTUALLY in favor of indoor shows? I mean, when I marched I still enjoyed Indy and San Antonio... and the Atlanta show isn't bad. But drum corps, just like marching band, is better outside. I wonder is the push of BOA and DCI to go inside fueled by WGI somehow? And my question is why? Domes have to cost more to use than having finals at a good open-air stadium. I just don't get it. Need anyone be reminded, while domes may have controlled climates, no wind, basically the "perfect environment" (sans acoustics) have any of those things hurt attendance at Yankees games? Red Sox? Cubs? Steelers? Packers? You get my drift.

I've wondered this for years. I guess I've understood why it makes sense for BOA since their late season events would be very difficult to stage outdoors unless you commit solely to the South. And I kind of accepted the idea that it's too hot in Texas to be outdoors in July so, ya know, why not do a Dome thing.

But speaking solely as one fan (who sat through the hottest {and one of the all time great} DCI finals on record and several rainy DCI finals as well), I would really rather be outside.

Being indoors dramatically changes the musical product. Many of us don't like that, but, are their fans or corps who prefer it? Said another way, if you could magically plop Invesco Field or Lucas Oil Stadium into your favorite city to host finals, which would you choose?

Edited August 27, 2009 by Peel Paint

[bawker]

Outside, open air. . .doesn't matter where as long as we're close to the field and it's loud.

[Jeff Ream]

when you say cheap beer, do you mean cheap price or cheap brand?

big difference

[Peel Paint]

when you say cheap beer, do you mean cheap price or cheap brand?

big difference

Oh, my bad! You're right, of course. Fixed!

[shawn craig]

Until this year I would have said either close to where I live or cheap/good deal on seats.

After experiencing finals in Lucas Oil it's a no brainer for me; OUTSIDE!!!

Edited August 27, 2009 by shawn craig

[soccerguy315]

outside...

I will not be attending finals at the oil can. If DCI still exists when the contract is up, maybe I will see about finals then. Or maybe I will check out finals in the 1 year it's not at the can (2013?), but that will depend on my situation then.

[CoHmempho04]

The best sounding arena for the members and fans.

[Peel Paint]

Somebody suggested recently on DCP that poll starters come back after 24 hours and sum it up, so here goes:

These numbers* suggest a potential problem for DCI given their commitment to Lucas Oil for 7 of the next 8 Augusts. A stadium close to the fan's home is a key priority for 18 out of 75 votes so far (and some of those 18 people probably live close to Indy while others do not), and an indoor stadium is key for 3 poll voters to date, which is good for DCI. But Lucas Oil is a poor match for the priorities of the significant majority of other respondents who went with outdoor stadium, great seats at fair prices, and cheaply-priced beer.

My reading of DCP threads was that you needed to be down low or up high AND very close to midfield for good sound. Probably fewer than two thousand seats fit that measure and they can be expensive and hard to get without connections. And concessions including beer were very expensive, though on the plus side, this year at least, security was not inspecting bags upon entry to confiscate food or drink. Others have posted here that not repeating championships in the same city too many years is another important factor for those who see the trip not just as drum corps but as their vacation, and that was not asked about in this poll. All of this does not bode well for repeat visits; DCI may have to concentrate on fixing fan concerns, though personally, I doubt the sound concerns about Lucas Oil can be fixed, no matter what's tried. Alternatively, if attendance does start to drop, DCI can work to build (possibly repeatedly) a new base of fans who will pay to go to championships, to replace the ones who stop going.

Indy does have a key advantage over other former DCI cities, not asked about in the poll: thousands of hotel rooms within walking distance of the stadium, and another advantage over some other DCI cities, plenty of reasonably priced parking within a few blocks of the stadium.

See shawn craig's post above? The hot button issue for him and for others now is sound. For 37 straight years outdoors, DCI had odds-defying good luck with no major disruptions of championships due to weather. If DCI had pressed their luck long enough, the streak would have ended with a finals rained out. Hey, the entire period from a Thursday afternoon through Saturday midnight could be unmarchable due to rain if luck really ran out. And if <shudder, but could happen> finals were rained out two or three years in a row, undoubtedly these poll numbers would shift again, because some people would be posting, "I don't care if the sound is perfect, let's get under a roof so we know we can get it in. What is DCI thinking holding this event outdoors when there are so many nice domed stadiums?? I don't need to pay to travel to Madison to watch pouring rain out my motel window for three days straight."

Some people would be posting that, but not me. I think the chance for glorious drum corps sound is worth the risk of being outdoors and possibly being hot, cold, or wet, or of finals being canceled due to weather. And I voted that way with my wallet for many years. Sorry, while I love the whole experience, bad sound shifts the equation to the point where I don't want to go.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*Of course people responding to a DCP poll midweek in late August are likely not typical of the whole DCI fanbase, but DCP may be a bit more representative of the segment of the DCI fanbase that may be willing to spend the money and take the time to go to championships year after year. So if I'm DCI, I'm watching this thread. DCI can and should, though, do their own more precise marketing research to determine what a random cross-section of their fans really think about Lucas Oil and what the long-term customer retention prospects are.

[hrnguy500]

See shawn craig's post above? The hot button issue for him and for others now is sound. For 37 straight years outdoors, DCI had odds-defying good luck with no major disruptions of championships due to weather. If DCI had pressed their luck long enough, the streak would have ended with a finals rained out. Hey, the entire period from a Thursday afternoon through Saturday midnight could be unmarchable due to rain if luck really ran out. And if <shudder, but could happen> finals were rained out two or three years in a row, undoubtedly these poll numbers would shift again, because some people would be posting, "I don't care if the sound is perfect, let's get under a roof so we know we can get it in. What is DCI thinking holding this event outdoors when there are so many nice domed stadiums?? I don't need to pay to travel to Madison to watch pouring rain out my motel window for three days straight."

Some people would be posting that, but not me. I think the chance for glorious drum corps sound is worth the risk of being outdoors and possibly being hot, cold, or wet, or of finals being canceled due to weather. And I voted that way with my wallet for many years. Sorry, while I love the whole experience, bad sound shifts the equation to the point where I don't want to go.

THIS IS SO TRUE. Its amazing how quickly people change their minds after one bad experience. I see it all the time with customer service stuff. People would be begging for indoor finals if finals were ever rained out. (Wasn't Mass. a bit rainy that year and hot!?!?)

Keep it outdoors. I like the venue when its closer to the midwest and in an open area. Having a rotating basis would probably be better too, just too keep things interesting and stimulate the economy in more than one city. Its like the Super Bowl, it should rotate stadiums.

[fifer]

Keep it outdoors. I like the venue when its closer to the midwest and in an open area. Having a rotating basis would probably be better too, just too keep things interesting and stimulate the economy in more than one city. Its like the Super Bowl, it should rotate stadiums.

You know the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"? Well, being in an outdoor stadium and changing up finals locations wasn't a broken idea so why did DCI decide it had to "fix it"? Certainly not for the fans!! There are so many other things they should have spent this time and effort to fix.

Yes, they picked some bad locations previous to moving to the Oil Can, but (other than Orlando) we typically only had to deal with the bad location once or once in a great while. Even at that, while some had shortcomings, most of the previous locations did offer superior stadiums for sound and visual enjoyment (sure Buffalo has little to offer, but that's one great stadium to watch drum corps in - same for Orlando - and I'm speaking only of the sight and sound lines). Jackson is the only stadium I can think of that offered a worse viewer (again, sight and sound lines only) experience, on average, than the Oil Can.