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

[Liahona]

Alright, I went and put it together. Below is my proposed every-other-year schedule. Note that this is based off the 2016 schedule, so I realize the dates would be adjusted a bit if this were actually played out. The only shows that didn't make the cut were the additional Allentown events (there's only one in this example) and the Florida show sites will need to move north in these years.

I absolutely hate this idea...but I really appreciate your tireless efforts...the only reason I hate it is due to my East Coast BIAS of late season shows...

[jwillis35]

I'm going to revisit the argument (to the dismay of many others on here) that the tour should be modified every year. Indy is centrally located enough that the corps could easily travel in in August from the West instead of the East. I'm not advocating that Finals move, but swapping Atlanta for Stanford and Allentown for Denver every other year is it not a ridiculous notion.

I would love this if it were more possible. I'm sure DCI has discussed it plenty.

It would be cool if after San Antonio a group of 10 to 12 corps traveled out to Glendale, AZ (with 2 or 3 shows along the way). At Glendale they use the big stadium (Arizona Cardinals) to perform at a western regional. It's not quite California, but it gives west coast folks a shot to attend a pretty big show. The other group of WC corps (after San Antonio) head eastward to the usual southeast stops and then Atlanta, then up the coast to Allentown. The Glendale group heads to Denver (Drums Along the Rockies gets moved back) and then into the midwest and ultimately to Indy. The Atlanta/Allentown group moves onto Buffalo, Massillon, and then Indy.

I do think something along these lines is possible without killing some of the non-regional shows. It would take a few slight moves and adding one big regional in Arizona.

[corpsband]

I would love this if it were more possible. I'm sure DCI has discussed it plenty.

It would be cool if after San Antonio a group of 10 to 12 corps traveled out to Glendale, AZ (with 2 or 3 shows along the way). At Glendale they use the big stadium (Arizona Cardinals) to perform at a western regional. It's not quite California, but it gives west coast folks a shot to attend a pretty big show. The other group of WC corps (after San Antonio) head eastward to the usual southeast stops and then Atlanta, then up the coast to Allentown. The Glendale group heads to Denver (Drums Along the Rockies gets moved back) and then into the midwest and ultimately to Indy. The Atlanta/Allentown group moves onto Buffalo, Massillon, and then Indy.

I do think something along these lines is possible without killing some of the non-regional shows. It would take a few slight moves and adding one big regional in Arizona.

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.

Edited October 5, 2016 by corpsband

[ouooga]

In the interest of ideas, here's one more that I've kicked around for a while now (this one won't be as detailed as my last post). The bullets break out the basic premise:

• The country is divided into five regions (see map below).
• All corps start in the same location (most likely Indy, but doesn't have to be). DCI would facilitate spring training sites in the designated region.
• The Tour Preview Show follows the same format as quarter finals (including movie theater showings), with corps performing in placement order from the previous year.
• All corps immediately move into one of the five chosen regions. Note that each year, the order of the regions changes (ie. in one year the tour might start in North East region, the next year it might start in North Central, etc.)
• The corps all spend 1 to 2 weeks in the region, performing at smaller (6-12 corps) shows. This allows DCI to host multiple shows on the same night without spreading their logistics staff too far throughout the country (at most, 3-4 states away from each other), or host back-to-back events using the same staff (who will only have a few states to travel through). Generally, the corps will compete against the same corps every night in this 1-2 week period, and they will also travel the region together.
• The 1-2 week period in each region ends with a Regional Event. Rough regional locations are denoted by stars on the map below. These events consist of all corps.
• Immediately following the Regional, the corps then head to a neighboring region, and the process repeats. Ideally, the corps will spend their time within the region competing against mostly different corps than they saw in the previous region, maintaining competitive excitement throughout the season (ie. wow, last time Coats saw Cadets, they whomped them for two weeks, but they haven't seen each other for two weeks, I wonder what will happen at the next Regional).
• This process repeats until all five regions are hit, and the corps then make their way to Indy for Finals.

There's many things I like about this system. First, it means that every region gets to see every corps. If you want to see them all, go to your nearest Regional. If you just want a few, they'll pass through your area. Each year you'll see different corps (ie. one year the Blue Devils might play the Mankato show, the next year Phantom, etc.) and different qualities (ie. one year the Central Region gets mid June shows, the next it gets late July shows). Second, it gives logistics a lot of flexibility. If DCI maintains a schedule like this, the corps will be moving together more frequently. If DCI then purchased gasoline for the corps they could negotiate a better rate with at least one gas supplier in each region since they'll be purchasing in bulk (the corps would then reimburse DCI). DCI can also coordinate housing easier in this method, with corps doubling up on some housing locations with greater ease if needed.

Again, this does not have Indy moving. It simply shows a different tour model.

Edit: I should note that I'm not advocating for more shows (at least, not a lot more shows). Some states won't get a show, just as is the case now. I'm simply suggesting another re-ordering of the events to fit into these buckets.

Also this model means TOC shows are not lost, since all corps are generally in the same region and can still meet up as needed for those events (probably 1 to 2 in each region).

Edited October 5, 2016 by ouooga

[Fred Windish]

I enjoy all the planning you are doing here!

My suggestion has always been . . . keep DCI's biggest event in Indianapolis. The many benefits outweigh the few disadvantages. When all is said and done, it's still making money for the corps and, I suspect, an increasing amount yearly. This, without simply just increasing ticket prices.

Something like "If it ain't broke, don't fix it ! "

[xandandl]

I enjoy all the planning you are doing here!

My suggestion has always been . . . keep DCI's biggest event in Indianapolis. The many benefits outweigh the few disadvantages. When all is said and done, it's still making money for the corps and, I suspect, an increasing amount yearly. This, without simply just increasing ticket prices.

Something like "If it ain't broke, don't fix it ! "

my wallet's broke and I don't think I'm the only one.

[ouooga]

I enjoy all the planning you are doing here!

My suggestion has always been . . . keep DCI's biggest event in Indianapolis. The many benefits outweigh the few disadvantages. When all is said and done, it's still making money for the corps and, I suspect, an increasing amount yearly. This, without simply just increasing ticket prices.

Something like "If it ain't broke, don't fix it ! "

Truthfully, that's the hardest part with all of my arguments. Again, I'm not saying move Indy, just revamp the road to Indy, but regardless, you're right; as long as the current model is in place, there's no real motivator to change it. I keep debating putting the effort into a cost/benefit analysis to somehow show that these models could be more profitable, but 1) I don't actually know that (though I'm confident they won't be less profitable), and 2) I don't know where I'd get most of the current DCI data.

That said, I can think of at least one group that at least said "it might not be broke, but I'm going to fix it by getting rid of shakos and adding in some big red ramps" and that worked out ok for them.

Also I'll be really curious to see if ticket sales are at all affected by the impact of Clash of the Corps. Every industry that has a hit reality series seems to jump in interest, and that could drastically change things. This is all speculative of course.

[garfield]

I can tell you've put a lot of thought into this, Matt, and I appreciate the cool graphics, but I'm going to throw a wrench into your works...

Looking at your potential schedule several pages back, I notice that you put the Dublin, Ohio Emerald City Games in the end of June, and you stuck a "New Show" in Wyoming in its place.

While it's easy to swap names and locations around on paper, it's not so in real life. Shows late in the season are MUCH more expensive than early season and, if I say so myself, it takes an experienced show team to step up and the extra financial risk on a late-season show. Finding a "New Show" TEP to host a show every couple of years isn't quite so easy.

Besides, Dublin definitely doesn't want a show in late June because the show quality isn't high enough (in the state with a national champ) to make a sufficient profit.

[ouooga]

I can tell you've put a lot of thought into this, Matt, and I appreciate the cool graphics, but I'm going to throw a wrench into your works...

Looking at your potential schedule several pages back, I notice that you put the Dublin, Ohio Emerald City Games in the end of June, and you stuck a "New Show" in Wyoming in its place.

While it's easy to swap names and locations around on paper, it's not so in real life. Shows late in the season are MUCH more expensive than early season and, if I say so myself, it takes an experienced show team to step up and the extra financial risk on a late-season show. Finding a "New Show" TEP to host a show every couple of years isn't quite so easy.

Not easy and not possible have very different meanings. I agree, it wouldn't be easy, but there's nothing impossible about anything here. Everything is both possible and increases accessibility of the activity to additional audiences. If the wrench is "training a staff would be too hard" I'm going to call laziness.

As for ticket sales, I actually don't know this. How much more are tickets at late-season shows? Outside of west coast shows and Indy I've never purchased tickets to a show, only performed in them. (and San Antonio a few times, but it's been a few years and I don't remember what I paid).

Just some quick math, my Finals tickets were only about 50% more than what I was used to paying at California June shows, so the range is somewhere between $X and 1.5$X. What is a show host's cut on ticket sales? Assuming the full difference is the full 50% ticket sale, and DCI splits ticket sales 50/50 with the show promoter, at most show promoters would lose out on 25% of their ticket sales if they hosted a June show instead of a late July/early August show. And obviously the model is profitable for show promoters, or no one would host shows early season, right?

Besides, Dublin definitely doesn't want a show in late June because the show quality isn't high enough (in the state with a national champ) to make a sufficient profit.

Wait, after everything you've said on the topic over the last few months, you don't see anything hypocritical about that compared to the Blue Devils home state?

[xandandl]

I can tell you've put a lot of thought into this, Matt, and I appreciate the cool graphics, but I'm going to throw a wrench into your works...

Looking at your potential schedule several pages back, I notice that you put the Dublin, Ohio Emerald City Games in the end of June, and you stuck a "New Show" in Wyoming in its place.

While it's easy to swap names and locations around on paper, it's not so in real life. Shows late in the season are MUCH more expensive than early season and, if I say so myself, it takes an experienced show team to step up and the extra financial risk on a late-season show. Finding a "New Show" TEP to host a show every couple of years isn't quite so easy.

Besides, Dublin definitely doesn't want a show in late June because the show quality isn't high enough (in the state with a national champ) to make a sufficient profit.

I don't dispute your statement.

Please explain why "late season shows are more expensive to run and need extra financial risk"....