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DCI Championships In Indy - What Happens After 10 Years Are Up?


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And that attitude and fortitude will certainly be one of the qualities that allows you to succeed in life in general. But, what one learns with age and experience is to measure the risks and take those with the highest potential return.

Perhaps you should exercise what drum corps taught you by becoming a show host. After all, more shows in more areas of the state will expose the activity to more people, creating demand, and performance opportunities for corps, and profit for all - hopefully.

The contract can easily cost $25m. Housing - 7 corps require 7 schools, each with minimum requirements per DCi and the corps and cost $500/night (better hope a corps doesn't want to stay over for another night!). Volunteers, police, porta-potties, food trucks, parking attendants... Marketing, a website, ticket-provider... Oh, and the show site. Stadiums can cost extra - figure $1m to $1,500. All told, an early season, mid-finisher-corps show can easily have a $30m-$35m nut to crack (late season, top-12 shows cost twice that or more). At $25 per ticket, and $10 profit per seat (maybe), how many fans do you have to attract to just break even? Three-thousand? 3,500? Want to make a profit or are you doing this just because you enjoy it?

Oh, and if DCI increases the contract price, or if athletic practice impedes the practice fields, or the volleyball team schedules a meet in the gym...

Possible? You bet.

Go for it.

Do you work in marketing? I don't see m used for thousand very often outside of the media buying realm.

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THAT is why we want a late-season, top-6 show. Fans will pay to see the top six late in the season. But the risk of rain or of mis-pricing the tickets is significant and potentially costly for TEPs who are new and/or in an area that's unproven.

Well I'm sure you take out rain insurance (and then pray it rains the right amount at the right location instead just over your site).

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while geographically this makes a lot of sense, how does it fit into the DCI's very successful strategy of offsetting DCI finals gross attendance with 4 weekends of "indy preview" regionals and 7 "finals preview" TOC shows. if you're going to split the tour like that, TOCs are essentially erased from the schedule after SAT. and the regionals no longer offer the chance for fans to see all the corps. this strategy has worked extremely well for overall ticket sales.

No doubt. Everything you say is true and that's why it's doubtful DCI would mess with the current model.

My idea works more off the model that used to exist in the 70s and 80s when we didn't have 3 or 4 regionals in which all the corps attended. Yes, the regional shows would get split, but I still think they could do quite well; and it does allow for some other corps to get later-evening performance slots (like Madison, Troopers, Pacific Crest...that kind of thing) and a higher placing -- if that sort of thing matters to the corps and the kids.

No doubt this model changes the lineup at Allentown and Atlanta. Allentown could still do two shows, but do an open class show (fri) with a few exhibition corps, and do a world class show (sat). Buffalo and Massillon are no longer TOC shows but they can still have excellent lineups.

To me, personally, they can get rid of the TOC shows. What we were told and what we get is not the same. It's changed a lot and frankly I have no use for it. I prefer a mix of placements in the lineup, not just 1 - 8. I want 1, 3, 6, 9, 13, 15, 18, 21, 25, and maybe an open class or two -- or some mix of that kind of idea. I like the uncertainty of not knowing what might happen at the regional shows and at FInals. I just feel like the TOC is an exclusive club that looks down on the others, and that is no way to grow the activity.

That said, TOC does offer some pros and they have drawn large audiences. I just think they also thin-out the pool of talent for other shows that might happen on the same night.

So while Atlanta and Allentown as regional shows, and Nightbeat, Buffalo, and Massillon as TOC shows would change, their lineup could still be quite strong. On the positive side DCI adds a new regional in Glendale, AZ and they beef-up the Drums Along the Rockies regional that, at one time, was strong but is now a shell of what it used to be. The audience numbers would grow in Denver and I imagine the Arizona regional would be a big hit as well. As the tour moves back through the plain states and the midwest this would allow areas like Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin to cash in on a few shows at a time when typically the bulk of the tour is on the East Coast of the U.S. Having some late-season shows would certainly help and it balances out the tour.

But as you said, there are negatives with this approach, from dollars to miles traveled, rehearsal days (not as easy when you have to travel long distances), and show lineups.

Edited by jwillis35
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No doubt. Everything you say is true and that's why it's doubtful DCI would mess with the current model.

My idea works more off the model that used to exist in the 70s and 80s when we didn't have 3 or 4 regionals in which all the corps attended. Yes, the regional shows would get split, but I still think they could do quite well; and it does allow for some other corps to get later-evening performance slots (like Madison, Troopers, Pacific Crest...that kind of thing) and a higher placing -- if that sort of thing matters to the corps and the kids.

No doubt this model changes the lineup at Allentown and Atlanta. Allentown could still do two shows, but do an open class show (fri) with a few exhibition corps, and do a world class show (sat). Buffalo and Massillon are no longer TOC shows but they can still have excellent lineups.

To me, personally, they can get rid of the TOC shows. What we were told and what we get is not the same. It's changed a lot and frankly I have no use for it. I prefer a mix of placements in the lineup, not just 1 - 8. I want 1, 3, 6, 9, 13, 15, 18, 21, 25, and maybe an open class or two -- or some mix of that kind of idea. I like the uncertainty of not knowing what might happen at the regional shows and at FInals. I just feel like the TOC is an exclusive club that looks down on the others, and that is no way to grow the activity.

That said, TOC does offer some pros and they have drawn large audiences. I just think they also thin-out the pool of talent for other shows that might happen on the same night.

So while Atlanta and Allentown as regional shows, and Nightbeat, Buffalo, and Massillon as TOC shows would change, their lineup could still be quite strong. On the positive side DCI adds a new regional in Glenville, AZ and they beef-up the Drums Along the Rockies regional that, at one time, was strong but is now a shell of what it used to be. The audience numbers would grow in Denver and I imagine the Arizona regional would be a big hit as well. As the tour moves back through the plain states and the midwest this would allow areas like Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin to cash in on a few shows at a time when typically the bulk of the tour is on the East Coast of the U.S. Having some late-season shows would certainly help and it balances out the tour.

But as you said, there are negatives with this approach, from dollars to miles traveled, rehearsal days (not as easy when you have to travel long distances), and show lineups.

TOC shows are certainly still divisive for some. But all those folks who sit down late at regionals, pack the stands from the first corps to the last at a TOC. Only other show I've seen like that is Finals.

Anyway I don't see any of the these alternatives happening. Allentown is a sacred cow to the fans that attend. And a lot of TEPs on the current tour will scream bloody murder if you try to take away what they've worked so hard to build. Finals out west 1 in 10 - they'll probably accept. Alternating tours -- no way in hades.

As I said at the start of this -- geography sucks. The DCI tour is what it is; if you want to see a lot of late season shows close to home, move out East.

Edited by corpsband
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TOC shows are certainly still divisive for some. But all those folks who sit down late at regionals, pack the stands from the first corps to the last at a TOC. Only other show I've seen like that is Finals.

Anyway I don't see any of the these alternatives happening. Allentown is a sacred cow to the fans that attend. And a lot of TEPs on the current tour will scream bloody murder if you try to take away what they've worked so hard to build. Finals out west 1 in 10 - they'll probably accept. Alternating tours -- no way in hades.

As I said at the start of this -- geography sucks. The DCI tour is what it is; if you want to see a lot of late season shows close to home, move out East.

No doubt, or work on those airline miles programs.

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To me, personally, they can get rid of the TOC shows. What we were told and what we get is not the same. It's changed a lot and frankly I have no use for it. I prefer a mix of placements in the lineup, not just 1 - 8. I want 1, 3, 6, 9, 13, 15, 18, 21, 25, and maybe an open class or two -- or some mix of that kind of idea. I like the uncertainty of not knowing what might happen at the regional shows and at FInals. I just feel like the TOC is an exclusive club that looks down on the others, and that is no way to grow the activity.

I would also prefer your suggested line-up as well...but we are die-hard drum corps fans...I'm sorry to say it...but the top corps are the "draw" for many IMO...or at least it has not been proven to be otherwise...

Edited by Liahona
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I would also prefer your suggested line-up as well...but we are die-hard drum corps fans...I'm sorry to say it...but the top corps are the "draw" for many IMO...or at least it has not been proven to be otherwise...

The funny part is how the top corps can change. 10 years ago, a show featuring Carolina Crown and Bluecoats wouldn't have turned a lot of heads.

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No doubt. Everything you say is true and that's why it's doubtful DCI would mess with the current model.

My idea works more off the model that used to exist in the 70s and 80s when we didn't have 3 or 4 regionals in which all the corps attended. Yes, the regional shows would get split, but I still think they could do quite well; and it does allow for some other corps to get later-evening performance slots (like Madison, Troopers, Pacific Crest...that kind of thing) and a higher placing -- if that sort of thing matters to the corps and the kids.

No doubt this model changes the lineup at Allentown and Atlanta. Allentown could still do two shows, but do an open class show (fri) with a few exhibition corps, and do a world class show (sat). Buffalo and Massillon are no longer TOC shows but they can still have excellent lineups.

To me, personally, they can get rid of the TOC shows. What we were told and what we get is not the same. It's changed a lot and frankly I have no use for it. I prefer a mix of placements in the lineup, not just 1 - 8. I want 1, 3, 6, 9, 13, 15, 18, 21, 25, and maybe an open class or two -- or some mix of that kind of idea. I like the uncertainty of not knowing what might happen at the regional shows and at FInals. I just feel like the TOC is an exclusive club that looks down on the others, and that is no way to grow the activity.

That said, TOC does offer some pros and they have drawn large audiences. I just think they also thin-out the pool of talent for other shows that might happen on the same night.

So while Atlanta and Allentown as regional shows, and Nightbeat, Buffalo, and Massillon as TOC shows would change, their lineup could still be quite strong. On the positive side DCI adds a new regional in Glendale, AZ and they beef-up the Drums Along the Rockies regional that, at one time, was strong but is now a shell of what it used to be. The audience numbers would grow in Denver and I imagine the Arizona regional would be a big hit as well. As the tour moves back through the plain states and the midwest this would allow areas like Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin to cash in on a few shows at a time when typically the bulk of the tour is on the East Coast of the U.S. Having some late-season shows would certainly help and it balances out the tour.

But as you said, there are negatives with this approach, from dollars to miles traveled, rehearsal days (not as easy when you have to travel long distances), and show lineups.

ya mean the show(s) hosted by Carolina Cloud wouldn't get rained out, lightning struck, or tornado troubled? I'd go for that!

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