Ghost Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Moving finals around might require some logistical changes. Look at this years August 5th schedule. http://www.dci.org/schedule/?week=Week8 If the finals were on the west coast this year, corps need to be at the final site by the 8th. What is the max miles corps are allowed to travel each day? Isn't it around 400? Or is there only an overnight restriction? Anyhoo, that's a lot of miles plus stops for rehearsing, sleeping, eating, etc. Extra CDL drivers would be needed. The late July early August schedule might have to be tweaked some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 That being said, I think if we had a set rotation where the same city & arena were on a four year rotation (say Indy, Boston, Kansas City, San Francisco) it might ease the corps a little bit and maintain some stability. George may not be a happy camper if NJ/NY was not chosen as the east coast location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Moving finals around might require some logistical changes. Look at this years August 5th schedule. http://www.dci.org/schedule/?week=Week8 If the finals were on the west coast this year, corps need to be at the final site by the 8th. What is the max miles corps are allowed to travel each day? Isn't it around 400? Or is there only an overnight restriction? Anyhoo, that's a lot of miles plus stops for rehearsing, sleeping, eating, etc. Extra CDL drivers would be needed. The late July early August schedule might have to be tweaked some. This is true, and I imagine it was a logistical hassle having to re-work the summer tour schedule to accommodate corps going west. I also imagine that is one of the big factors why DCI has only been west of the rockies once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoSurfBass Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Moving finals around might require some logistical changes. Look at this years August 5th schedule. http://www.dci.org/s...ule/?week=Week8 If the finals were on the west coast this year, corps need to be at the final site by the 8th. What is the max miles corps are allowed to travel each day? Isn't it around 400? Or is there only an overnight restriction? Anyhoo, that's a lot of miles plus stops for rehearsing, sleeping, eating, etc. Extra CDL drivers would be needed. The late July early August schedule might have to be tweaked some. I remember in 2007 when Champs were on the west coast... Allentown was the first Sat/Sun in July rather than the first Fri/Sat in August. (In fact, looking at the scores for that year, it looks like the schedule format in use today was turned on its head) I remember loving nearly every show put on that year (I still maintain that 2007 was among the best years EVER for DCI), but wishing it was in August again since the final push meant seeing many "new" endings for the first time. I thought the classic DCI show was the perfect spot for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusayan Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 DCI should do NOTHING, including holding Championships on the West Coast, that isn't the be best financial interests of the organization. That's really the end of this debate: if holding Championships in San Francisco is not in DCI best financially interests, then it shouldn't be done. Is there any evidence that the 2007 championships location put any additional financial burdens on corps? Doing it on a rotating basis makes sense. Cadets, PR and Cavaliers (and Star in the old days) make occassional West Coast trips so what differnce does it make whether they come out West in June, July or Augsut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 All of this geographic talk is interesting but ignores some important factors: 1. Indianapolis is world-class convention center. It has the hotel rooms, the restaurants, the infrastructure to handle large gatherings (like the Superbowl, NCAA Championships, Big Ten Championships, Pan-Am Games, BOA...not to mention the Indianapolis 500). 2. There is a large, committed marching fan base both in Indiana and in near adjacent states. In addition, schools, facilities, and so on are available close by in Indy, Carmel, Bloomington, etc. 3. Say what you will, Lucas Oil is a very nice place to watch anything. No bad seats, protection from the weather, brand new facilities, almost no security problems, great parking, and so on. Having been there the last 3 years, I can say that I encountered no one who was unhappy about the place who was there. Of course, this is not a scientific sample, but many of the anti-Lucas folks on here seem to have not been there. "I'll never go to finals in a dome...Allentown is much more pure..." blah blah blah. I think the attendance and enthusiasm for DCI in Indy has been proven, and at some point people will just have to say, "They were right, I was wrong." having been there, and also not being scientific in my research, I know many people that were there, thought the sound sucked, and the lack of appeal to go there every year until who knows when turned them off. which kind of sucks, it's made getting good seats at Allentowen harder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Oregon Crusaders: Portland to Indy: 2237 miles BD -- Concord to Indy: 2229 miles Pacific Crest -- Chino Hills to Indy: 2042 miles Crossmen -- San Antonio to Indy: 1173 miles Troopers -- Cheyenne to Indy: 1078 miles Cadets -- Allentown to Indy: 622 miles Spirit -- Atlanta to Indy: 534 miles Colts -- Dubuque to Indy: 375 miles Cavaliers -- Chicago to Indy: 187 miles "Centrally located" my ###.... :worthy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I'm a nerd so I ran some of the numbers. Looking at the top 25 world class corps, its clear that a west coast championships is not practical for the corps we currently have involved in the circuit. The total and average miles driven would be nearly doubled, 2 corps and their fans would be asked to travel over 3,000 miles, and in general, it would require far more travel in contrast to any of the other 3 scenarios. Championships in the DC area (hypothetical east coast location) would also be impractical in comparison, although much more advantageous to more groups than a Santa Clara championships. The lowest total number of miles traveled would be, not surprisingly, where championships currently reside in indianapolis. There is a solid argument, however for a championships somewhere like Kansas City. The average miles traveled would be a little higher, but there is a bit more parity in the numbers traveled by each corps. Bottom line is, Indy is where championships are, and will be for the foreseeable future. It is, in fact, centrally located for the existing corps in the DCI circuit. There are far more corps on the eastern side of the country than on the west. Its is unfortunate for the west coast corps who often have to travel a bit more, but the fact is, that's the problem with a national championship. You can't please everyone. From the corps base of operations, to Indianapolis: Cadets 622 miles Blue Devils 2229 miles Cavaliers 187 miles Crown 595 miles Phantom Regiment 269 miles Santa Clara Vanguard 2282 miles Bluecoats 302 miles Crusaders 975 miles Blue Stars 463 miles Madison Scouts 320 miles Blue Knights 1085 miles Spirit 534 miles Glassmen 222 miles Troopers 1078 miles Academy 1690 miles Colts 375 miles Crossmen 1173 miles Pacific Crest 2042 miles Mandarins 2164 miles Teal Sound 849 miles Blue Devils B 2229 miles Seattle Cascades 2246 miles Vanguard Cadets 2282 miles Jersey Surf 672 miles Spartans 995 miles Total miles = 23,882 Average number of miles driven = 955.28 Lowest number of miles driven = 187 Highest number of miles driven = 2282 Number of corps asked to drive more than 1,000 miles = 11 Number of corps asked to drive more than 2,000 miles = 7 Number of corps asked to drive more than 3,000 miles = 0 Same numbers if championships were in Santa Clara: Cadets 2880 miles Blue Devils 54 miles Cavaliers 2158 miles Crown 2684 miles Phantom Regiment 2116 miles Santa Clara Vanguard 0 miles Bluecoats 2535 miles Crusaders 3128 miles Blue Stars 2104 miles Madison Scouts 2122 miles Blue Knights 1301 miles Spirit 2436 miles Glassmen 2388 miles Troopers 1173 miles Academy 723 miles Colts 2030 miles Crossmen 1696 miles Pacific Crest 372 miles Mandarins 118 miles Teal Sound 2759 miles Blue Devils B 54 miles Seattle Cascades 839 miles Vanguard Cadets 0 miles Jersey Surf 2935 miles Spartans 3146 miles Total miles = 41,751 Average number of miles driven = 1,670 Lowest number of miles driven = 0 Highest number of miles driven = 3,146 Number of corps asked to drive more than 1,000 miles = 17 Number of corps asked to drive more than 2,000 miles = 11 Number of corps asked to drive more than 3,000 miles = 2 Kansas City: Cadets 1103 miles Blue Devils 1785 miles Cavaliers 522 miles Crown 972 miles Phantom Regiment 480 miles Santa Clara Vanguard 1842 miles Bluecoats 783 miles Crusaders 1431 miles Blue Stars 468 miles Madison Scouts 458 miles Blue Knights 599 miles Spirit 802 miles Glassmen 735 miles Troopers 814 miles Academy 1194 miles Colts 393 miles Crossmen 812 miles Pacific Crest 1595 miles Mandarins 1719 miles Teal Sound 1188 miles Blue Devils B 1785 miles Seattle Cascades 1890 miles Vanguard Cadets 1842 miles Jersey Surf 1155 miles Spartans 1449 miles Total miles = 27,786 Average number of miles driven = 1,111 Lowest number of miles driven = 393 Highest number of miles driven = 1890 Number of corps asked to drive more than 1,000 miles = 13 Number of corps asked to drive more than 2,000 miles = 0 Number of corps asked to drive more than 3,000 miles = 0 Baltimore MD (lets pick a spot central to the East Coast just for giggles): Cadets 142 miles Blue Devils 2798 miles Cavaliers 717 miles Crown 479 miles Phantom Regiment 789 miles Santa Clara Vanguard 2885 miles Bluecoats 339 miles Crusaders 410 miles Blue Stars 982 miles Madison Scouts 848 miles Blue Knights 1672 miles Spirit 699 miles Glassmen 472 miles Troopers 1827 miles Academy 878 miles Colts 878 miles Crossmen 1639 miles Pacific Crest 2643 miles Mandarins 2732 miles Teal Sound 749 miles Blue Devils B 2798 miles Seattle Cascades 2765 miles Vanguard Cadets 2885 miles Jersey Surf 119 miles Spartans 428 miles Total miles = 30,775 Average number of miles driven = 1,231 Lowest number of miles driven = 119 Highest number of miles driven = 2885 Number of corps asked to drive more than 1,000 miles = 10 Number of corps asked to drive more than 2,000 miles = 6 Number of corps asked to drive more than 3,000 miles = 0 yet it's practical that the state with the most DCI titles, has received finals in their state ONCE...just ONCE...in 40 years, and that the fans out there have only seen August action twice when you consider the original tour of champions gigs however many years ago. ########. Look, I live in PA. I love having Allentown late in the year. But if that were to change in order to give Cali some August love, i'd be all for it. I'd make a vacation out of it when my daughter is old enough. I'm sure I'll be back to Indy before the current deal is up, but I'm not chomping at the bit to go there again, and certainly not for 10 years in a row. If the West Coast Corps keep having to suck it up year after year, that is, IMO, the greatest crime in DCI history. "oh the poor East Coast corps" blah blah blah ########....spare me. if Hop can find the money every year for new guard uniforms mid season, he can find the money to go to Cali for finals. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 You can literally make this argument for almost all of the venues DCI has hosted Championships; even traffic around Madison sucks, and housings sights for some corps could be pretty far away. As for the crowds, in 2007 in Pasadena the crowds I was around were pretty hyped for all the corps. Of course they were louder for west coast corps, but you get that everywhere. For as sacred as Allentown seems to be, I think that crowd is one of the worst crowds in DCI unless you're Cadets (and used to be Crossmen). Allentown isn't as pro Cadets as you would think, unless they're really good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 yet it's practical that the state with the most DCI titles, has received finals in their state ONCE...just ONCE...in 40 years, and that the fans out there have only seen August action twice when you consider the original tour of champions gigs however many years ago. Basing your argument on how many championships have been won in a given region eliminates the concept of practicality. At that point it becomes about what is fair, or what individual corps do or don't deserve more than it is about practicality. So no, it is not practical to have championships on the West coast. Would it be nice to do if it were practical, sure. Don't get me wrong, I hate it for the west coast corps, but the fact is, the western half of our country is big and empty. There aren't anywhere near as many people, much less corps between Kansas City and California as there are from Kansas City to DC. That's the reality of living on the West Coast in general. If you want to go anywhere that isn't on the west coast, you're going to travel farther. Stuff is more spread out on that half of the country. Again, DCI has survived largely due to savvy business operations. Making the majority of the member base, not to mention fan base travel twice as far to championships, simply to satisfy the minority is just not good business sense. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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