drilltech1 Posted August 29, 2013 Author Share Posted August 29, 2013 This was posted to Facebook this evening. I read it 3 times to make sure of what I was reading. Is it me, or are they asking for help and bashing the DCA and the DCA Championship Model at the same time. Did they not know what they were getting in to before they decided to field a DCA corps? I think a better investment might be hiring a PR person. I can't believe that a non profit with their visibility doesn't think through what they release under their name on social media. Hey all ... As you know we have Cadets 2 ... on the way to Annapolis. Our goal, over a few fast years, is to run the corps at a break even. We have help from YAMAHA, and other partners, but for 2012, the corps cost $90K to run, and this year ... we have been doing really well ... ... EXCEPT NOW!!! DCA, which is an inexpensive alternative to DCI, forces the corps to stay at the hotel for three nights. Thats 150 room nights or $16,874.29 And we ... do not need the rooms. We could have stayed at a school. But to date ... there is no change and suddenly, the costs of running C2 start to make you wonder. $16K here, 12K for buses, $5K for food and the final weekend is $33K. And unlike some corps, we can't make the kids pay for this weekend. Heck ... We come home Sunday night. The rooms are empty. YES ... Sunday night we lose $5600.00!!! So, before you bemoan that DCA does this ... that is for another day. What we are working to do, is to see if we can get 128 people to sponsor 128 kids for their room charge for the three days. That's $122.00. I did it .. and the last time I looked 18 other people have done it. This will wipe out that hotel bill. And this will make it possible for Cadets2 to have a fabulous weekend and for YEA! to look forward to 2014 with a better plan for a better corps and an awesome experience for these kids. DCA has some potential ... and the Cadets 2 model may be something we can all expand on. But we do need a little help. As a not for profit, as a youth program, and as an agency that works for others, we are asking for folks to come on board. Gang ... Empire Statesmen will be performing for the last time this year in Annapolis. We plan to be in Rochester. We want to give Reading, and Hawthorne and others a run for their money for years to come. We have 3 days to interest 100 folks in our future. We have three days to ease the fiscal pain of this program. We have three days to make sure that this all makes sense for today and for tomorrow. Interesting to note that this post implies next championship is back in Rochester. Sorry Jeff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Hotel occupancy is a HUGE component in attracting interest from host communities. From hotel occupancy comes other forms of spending, like food, drink, and shopping. It is far better for any convention promoter to go into a community and say, "look, we can fill 4,000 room/nights, provide a wonderful weekend of entertainment for your residents, etc." "So, here's evidence of what we (drum corps) can bring to you based on prior years. Here's what we need from you to help our bottom line, now, what can you do for us?" What Fred said. The DCA championship is, for all intents and purposes, a convention. The more hotel rooms a convention can fill, the more attractive that convention is to a prospective host city. Period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Interesting to note that this post implies next championship is back in Rochester. Sorry Jeff. DCA is back in Rochester for 2014 and 2015. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Home as in the North East. Not neccesarly Rochester. FWIW I do not see Rochester getting the next bid. Annapolis makes a lot of sense because it is geographically closer to the MAJORITY of the corps including the NE corps. But you can sort of tell by all the buzz that Annapolis is off the radar for another bid. It all comes down to money and who gets the money. Sad as it was a great venue for DCA. Probably looking at another soccar field or baseball diamond to trip over. I don't think Annapolis is "off the radar" at all for a future bid. Perhaps the biggest factor in Annapolis being available as a host city in the future is the Navy football schedule. If there's a Navy home game on Labor Day weekend, that's the priority for the folks in Annapolis, and for the stadium. We were fortunate that there was a window of opportunity for 2012 and this year... with no Navy home game on Labor Day weekend. I would imagine the same would apply to a city like Columbus, OH. IMO, that would be a great host city for DCA, with the wonderful Columbus Crew soccer stadium as the venue. But... if Ohio State has a home game Labor Day weekend in that same city... it would be tough, particularly from a hotel-room availability standpoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 What Fred said. The DCA championship is, for all intents and purposes, a convention. The more hotel rooms a convention can fill, the more attractive that convention is to a prospective host city. Period. But on the other side of the coin, what does DCA get in return from the host city? Rochester - use of the Convention Center/streets for I&E and Minis Annapolis - ????? For both I'm taking for granted stadiums owned by non-city groups. LOL - USNA not taking much from granted there..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvscorps Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Thanks Liz. I guess that's really my point and why it struck me the wrong way. They chose to join DCA knowing that this is the deal. It's not like the rules changed. First off, if you want to solicit donations, do it. Did the DCA stuff/rant need to be in there? Do you see this from any other DCA corps or are they figuring out a way to do it without taking shots? I agree with all, that they have certainly strengthened the overall product and I'll make sure to be in the stadium when they perform Sunday. I am a fan of Cadets and C2, but how YEA/HOP represents itself in public is a PR head scratcher. This. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normy diploome Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Given Jeff Ream's reaction and others agreeing with him, Rochester is becoming the new Indianapolis.........................with all the same splashback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegalEagle50 Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 I don't think Annapolis is "off the radar" at all for a future bid. Perhaps the biggest factor in Annapolis being available as a host city in the future is the Navy football schedule. If there's a Navy home game on Labor Day weekend, that's the priority for the folks in Annapolis, and for the stadium. We were fortunate that there was a window of opportunity for 2012 and this year... with no Navy home game on Labor Day weekend. I would imagine the same would apply to a city like Columbus, OH. IMO, that would be a great host city for DCA, with the wonderful Columbus Crew soccer stadium as the venue. But... if Ohio State has a home game Labor Day weekend in that same city... it would be tough, particularly from a hotel-room availability standpoint. Look at what happened with MetLife stadium this year for the Cadets show. They have used that stadium for the Sunday drum corps show after DCI East (and the one that was there prior to 2010) for how long? That is a serious question, because I went to my 1st one in 1991, but I'm sure it was there prior to that. Soccer came in this year with an offer and bye-bye drum corps show. Whoever can bring in the most fans, more money to the area with booking rooms, foods sales, etc. is going to be the winner of the stadium, any stadium. Allentown prefers having the state fair over DCA's Labor Day weekend for the same reasoning from what I have been told. I'm one of the 'not going back to Rochester' next year crowd UNLESS I can work it into something like going to Niagra Falls for a couple of days. It's a year away and I'll start thinking about it when 2014 rolls around and the vacation schedule at work starts up (that seniority thing is a real pain). I hope that those who venture to Annapolis this weekend have a wonderful time, better weather than last year and lots of great food downtown! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 No arguement either and fitting in what I learned this Summer.... As far as making it worth it for the area, not buying it that much... 1) Not like DCA is competing with other events for hotel rooms and the area is trying to make expenses or more money. If no DCA or any other event, then less $$$$ coming into the area. The area shouldn't kiss DCAs ### but sounds like an excuse to turn the screws. 2) And we wonder why Drum Corps is more expensive to run and easier to kill???? Just picturing a FB from a corps in Annapolis asking people to use the hotel rooms they were forced to get.... Edit: Thinking of the money we spent in the Annapolis area last year. Well.... couple of items at the Naval Academy store and total of 4 meals at Subway. Everything else was in the BWI area as was our hotel.... Jim look at it this way....with the corps and fans we bring what...maybe 10,000 people to the region? Now, what do you think the stadiums main tenant, Navy football brings in? So yes, the area needs to know what's in it for them...and we are not bringing in what Navy football does Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 I know a lot of you guys dont read facebook, but this very thing was already suggested as one of the first comments. C2's logic, apparently, is that they dont quite have the following, or the alumni base (duh), of a corps like the bucs, so they would have no real chance of staying at a school, and selling off the rooms. I'm sure they would love to be able to do that....just not able to yet. the corps has 100+ kids worth of parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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