JimF-LowBari Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 (edited) yes jim please !!!!!! I WANT TO HEAR THEM Let's just say you needed a bus driver who dind't mind opening the door at highway speed.... a friend with a strong arm.... and a good belt.... IIRC... told by an ex Picksburgh Rocket..... WSM had charter buses with bathrooms too..... but before the corps opened up to minors might have been a bunch of cans rolling aroud the floor. As I was told "...eventually they'd end up in the stairwell so when we got home, the driver would open the door and they'd fall out. Made it easier to clen up that way". Edited January 8, 2013 by JimF-LowBari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 (edited) Show attendance has to affect the bottom line for corps. It would be delusional to claim otherwise. What you have seen at DCI shows is most likely the result of sagging attendance causing show sponsors to choose smaller (cheaper) venues. Right on,...........exactly what has happened here in Erie,.........we used to draw 3 to 4000,.............now we draw around 2000 for the DCI WC contest we host,.........our team has been running the DCI contest for 29 consecutive years, (might be a record) so we have actual statistics to look at, not just speculation,........about 4 or 5 years ago, we left Erie Veterans Memorial Stadium (Jim's fav.) for a HS venue simply due to cost and size needs............ BITD, we hosted larger crowds for RCA championships, than DCA does for finals today,..... Edited January 8, 2013 by Gary Matczak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 well technically it was supposed to happen in 1988, but early morning rain that dissolved into a gorgeous Saturday kept that from happening Actually, 1988 was still the "two shows in one day" format. The rain happened on Sunday, postponing prelims and finals. Both shows were then pushed back to Labor Day Monday. The change to the new format was voted in for the 1989 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Show attendance has to affect the bottom line for corps. It would be delusional to claim otherwise. You like to use words like 'delusional' to put down people who disagree with you. Note that I said 'much of a factor' in corps budgets, not zero. What you have seen at DCI shows is most likely the result of sagging attendance causing show sponsors to choose smaller (cheaper) venues. Hardly. Most of our shows in my era were on HS fields smaller than even HS fields of today. We had occasional shows at larger venues, just like today, but most were not on larger stadiums. In my Garden State Circuit time as a marching member, instructor and judge, we even had shows where there were no stands at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 You like to use words like 'delusional' to put down people who disagree with you. I am so sorry you feel that way. I comment only on the posts here, not the people behind them. It is difficult to exchange ideas if people cannot make that distinction. Note that I said 'much of a factor' in corps budgets, not zero. I think that when attendance changes to the point where show sponsors select smaller venues in order to right-size their show contract, the resulting change in revenue is more than what can be dismissed as "not really much of a factor" in corps budgets. In cases where the show sponsor is a corps, that becomes undeniable. On the DCI side, we have seven corps lodging recent complaints that they should be getting more revenue from DCI. They would be if shows were drawing more. Not much of a factor? These corps are so adamant about it that they are running their own series of special shows designed to attract larger audiences, and moving to larger venues: Clifton - Meadowlands Rock Hill - Charlotte Rockford - DeKalb If attendance is "not much of a factor" in their budgets, that would be a huge waste of effort on their part. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessL Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Correct, guys. That's the point. During the "good ole" days, few corps had more than 90 total. It had to have been a less expensive operation then in terms of equipment required, staffing and, given that some folks prefer to drive on their own, 2 buses was doable. I don't know, it's just that when costs become a problem, most choose to deal with that by downsizing in some way. I'm going to guess that they also didn't have the production budgets of today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bariman50 Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 (edited) The cost to field any group, corp, band etc should be figured into the operating budjet of the group. You have to take under consideration, cost of equipment, travel, lodging, food, staff, plus the cost to the people that are participating. When corps played in small venues, the cost was considerably less, I can remember seeing 5 (then) junior corps in California in the early 60's for $2.00 at a school field in LaHoya. I know they didn't have near the cost that corps had in the 70's then '80s and so on. The prices paid to see these corps have to reflect the costs they incur to put on the show. The more "staff" you have to support in DCA and DCI has grown to be a large expense that was not incurred years ago. As a member of an Alumni Corp we support ourselves by doing concerts and parades, which I know that most DCA and DCI Corps consider fluff and a waste of time. People look forward to seeing a good drum corps or band in a parade and this has diminished so much that big parades pay excellent sums to lure them to their venue. Maybe corps should "lower" themselves to participate in local or semi local parades and concerts to help defray costs. I know the Statesmen do quite a bit of local parades etc, it's fun, no judges, and the crowds love you to death!!:cool:/> Edited January 8, 2013 by bariman50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegalEagle50 Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 I don't think that DCA (or DCI) corps consider parades fluff or a waste of time. I think the problem is that membership is obligated to other things besides just the corps in the off-season. School being a major consideration. During the regular season most corps I know of take part in many parades. It becomes problematic in the off-season though and many corps have learned the hard way that the membership cannot make these events. It is better to not accept a place in them hoping you will have enough people show up than to turn around and have to back out because of the lack of bodies that are there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 (edited) I don't think that DCA (or DCI) corps consider parades fluff or a waste of time. I think the problem is that membership is obligated to other things besides just the corps in the off-season. School being a major consideration. During the regular season most corps I know of take part in many parades. It becomes problematic in the off-season though and many corps have learned the hard way that the membership cannot make these events. It is better to not accept a place in them hoping you will have enough people show up than to turn around and have to back out because of the lack of bodies that are there. Want to bring up the point that the economy has cut down the amount of money that some parades pay out. So that cash cow in the Northeast ain't what it used to be. Edited January 8, 2013 by JimF-LowBari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 We can only speculate why the Empire Statesmen have decided they will soon give up DCA competition. Knowing that reasoning would go a long way in identifying what problems one corps foresees by continuing. I'm with Don on assessing this development. I believe the message here is "Hey, we can't afford to keep this up as things are now. We can be more stable by doing something else, and here's how we plan to do that." The best situation for DCA would be if Empire is the only corps to feel a need for change. I'm afraid that's far from the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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