Rain in DCI

[HockeyDad]

Do it like the Indy 500. Schedule Quarters for Wed, Semis for Thur and Finals for Friday.. If it gets rained out, move it to Saturday. Until then (i.e. never) you can have my indoor seats. The bad accoustics doesn't justify the money.

[Jeff Ream]

you may get more attendance BUT for business..imagine rain.....any chance....people arent satisfied anymore losing money to go to any show....maybe show someday will all end up in arenas as crowds get smaller and corps dont want to deal with the elements......another poster said they would rather quality of sound a bit for guarantee of good weather..with the cost of things today it cant be ignored.

but they know they're losing attendance being inside

[GUARDLING]

but they know they're losing attendance being inside

and many still feel its worth losing some for a guarantee of a night without issues.......there have been people here saying this also and also saying that sound quality isnt as good but worth the difference for a night of a rain free and cool ( temp )setting..im not agreeing or not agreeing with it..just repeating what some have said and that theres 2 sides to this.........even DCA die hard drum corps folks .....if theres 50 people in the audience for the end of retreat its alot...ok maybe 100..lol

Edited March 6, 2014 by GUARDLING

[perc2100]

but they know they're losing attendance being inside

But they'd lose ALL the attendance if its rained out. Also, DCI doesn't look at revenue JUST for Finals, since they host several shows; and according to their PR, to quote a famous military leader, "business is a-boomin.'" Perhaps potentially less attendance but assured delivery of shows is a more than equitable tradeoff. A few years back no question DCI Finals would've been postponed a day at best, or flat-out canceled. That would've been disastrous! Because of Lucas Oil they were able to go ahead with Finals with minimal disruption, something other local events could not do.

And of course, being in the elements there is also a potential risk factor, something that should ALWAYS trump finances. IIRC a few years back during Finals there was an awful rain storm, and at an outdoor concert people DIED due to weather related problems. The safety of members and audience is priority #1, and having Finals in a dome, and its diminished audio clarity, is worth it in order to guarantee Finals performances + safety.

[perc2100]

the funny thing is....

rain was never really an issue on finals week until the move to Indy!

all those years outside....no rain or a little....and we move to a place known for thunderstorms in August that are about as common as the ticking of time....and now we have issues that are used to justify the roof.

imagine that.

You're right, and if they moved Finals permanently to Southern CA where rain in August is literally the top news story because of its rarity, I'd be with you. Saying, "but it's never happened in the past why worry about the future" is more enlightening because of how LUCKY DCI was for decades prior. Anywhere in the midwest or south or east of pacific northwest is going to have a chance of rain in August on any given day. DCI has been lucky, and it's great that they have been able to dodge the bullet and now feel security with an indoor finals venue.

Also, and straying a bit off of topic of the weather issue, there is a substantial financial consideration for Finals in LOS that likely makes everything financially worth it.

[perc2100]

Orlando had alot to do with that..a hot mess at times although I liked it there...and not just that even the smaller shows or regionals...anytime there was rain and people lost money and traveled to get to a show there were many who didnt want to watch any standstill and wanted their money back ( which they didnt get )..no rain dates in drum corps today...people got to a point where they werent going to spend hundreds on a chance. Cant blame them for that...who knows maybe THATS a reason less were coming and NOW getting more..as another poster said YES sound is better outside BUT its pretty nice sitting in AC comfy and knowing its not going to rain out...who knows

Not to mention corps who lose out on souvie sales when shows are rained out, or standstills with very diminished crowds.

[Fred Windish]

All things considered, I certainly agree with perc2100 an indoor Indy (hmmm) is the best choice all around. Can you imagine delaying Finals by one day due to rain? First of all, I think the event would be simply canceled. Imagine the burden on corps and fans to extend housing an additional day. First of all, changing a flight at the last minute is neither easy, nor cheap these days. I also like the guarantee an "Indy" gives to a live Pay-Per-View. I contend this can grow into an even bigger funding source. Who knows, there might even be a way to improve indoor acoustics even more. I was at the Montreal Finals. Yes, there surely WAS an echo, but I kinda took that in stride and enjoyed some new benefits not available outdoors.

[Quad Aces]

But they'd lose ALL the attendance if its rained out. Also, DCI doesn't look at revenue JUST for Finals, since they host several shows; and according to their PR, to quote a famous military leader, "business is a-boomin.'" Perhaps potentially less attendance but assured delivery of shows is a more than equitable tradeoff. A few years back no question DCI Finals would've been postponed a day at best, or flat-out canceled. That would've been disastrous! Because of Lucas Oil they were able to go ahead with Finals with minimal disruption, something other local events could not do.

And of course, being in the elements there is also a potential risk factor, something that should ALWAYS trump finances. IIRC a few years back during Finals there was an awful rain storm, and at an outdoor concert people DIED due to weather related problems. The safety of members and audience is priority #1, and having Finals in a dome, and its diminished audio clarity, is worth it in order to guarantee Finals performances + safety.

Of course we can't forget the fact that we could have the best of both worlds with Finals at Indy - the ability is there to open the roof in good weather. Yes, I understand all of the issues involved, but I also know that when the long-term move to Indy was first announced and people complained about the acoustical problems that would result, DCI's response was that this was great because now they had the best of both worlds. If there was good weather, the dome would be open, and if there was bad weather, the dome would be closed - such is the benefit of having a retractable roof. Sounded great back then, right?

Then when DCI Championships moved into Indy...that all kind of quietly disappeared, never to be heard from or spoken about officially since the deal was announced and comments were made to help try and appease angry fans.

Perhaps anyone who marched BD 12 (or who was in the audience) can comment on what it was like to perform their show with the roof open the day after 12 Finals at halftime of the Colts pre-season game.

Edited March 6, 2014 by Quad Aces

[perc2100]

All things considered, I certainly agree with perc2100 an indoor Indy (hmmm) is the best choice all around. Can you imagine delaying Finals by one day due to rain? First of all, I think the event would be simply canceled. Imagine the burden on corps and fans to extend housing an additional day. First of all, changing a flight at the last minute is neither easy, nor cheap these days. I also like the guarantee an "Indy" gives to a live Pay-Per-View. I contend this can grow into an even bigger funding source. Who knows, there might even be a way to improve indoor acoustics even more. I was at the Montreal Finals. Yes, there surely WAS an echo, but I kinda took that in stride and enjoyed some new benefits not available outdoors.

Great reminder: what is considered to be the gold standard of attendance in the DCI era was when DCI FInals was indoors!

Was that the first time Finals was indoors (I think it is but my memory about trivial junk is not what it used to be)

[perc2100]

Of course we can't forget the fact that we could have the best of both worlds with Finals at Indy - the ability is there to open the roof in good weather. Yes, I understand all of the issues involved, but I also know that when the long-term move to Indy was first announced and people complained about the acoustical problems that would result, DCI's response was that this was great because now they had the best of both worlds. If there was good weather, the dome would be open, and if there was bad weather, the dome would be closed - such is the benefit of having a retractable roof. Sounded great back then, right?

Then when DCI Championships moved into Indy...that all kind of quietly disappeared, never to be heard from or spoken about officially since the deal was announced and comments were made to help try and appease angry fans.

Perhaps anyone who marched BD 12 (or who was in the audience) can comment on what it was like to perform their show with the roof open the day after 12 Finals at halftime of the Colts pre-season game.

True, but keep in mind construction on the stadium wasn't even completed when DCI moved to LOS (which IMO is a whole other argument discussion). Perhaps DCI was unclear about the logistics of opening the dome, or maybe the owners of the stadium got cold feet at the thought of risking damage if DCI opted to have the roof open, there was rain, and the roof couldn't be closed in time.

I would be curious to hear from anyone who might've been in the stands to see BD at Finals in 2012, and then to see them perform at the Colts game in open room. I'd love to hear acoustic analysis (though there would be FAR more fans at the Colts game, which would obviously affect acoustics, but still...)