Terri Schehr Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 2 hours ago, Bone-Tone Lord said: Parking's a nightmare for corps as well. All the buses park on one street in the park, and no one can leave until whoever's parked in front does. This is particularly annoying on Friday, when many corps want to return to their housing site early because they'll be staying there the next day and as a result have left their food trucks there. Last August, I spent an hour and a half sitting on the bus, plus another close to two hours actually driving to the housing site, with no bus box food because the next day was Walmart/laundry, and didn't have time to get the super-hyped-up funnel cake because of the super-early BIS. Most of our corps was in exactly the same situation, and the people on the buses next to ours didn't look too happy either. Allentown is a ridiculously overhyped show site in every way imaginable. Parking's a nightmare, buses, equipment trucks, warmups, and the stadium are all a million miles away from each other, there's that nightmarish hill that you have to haul props and pit up into the stadium, there's barely room for corps to enter and exit, and the stadium itself isn't significantly better than, say, Whitewater or Little Rock and is only talked up because it's the regional. At least, UW Whitewater has parking. But that hill isn’t good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said: there's a lot more that goes into it than the logistics, though they count for a lot. in an activity in which everyone crows about traditions, yet get chucked to the side daily, Allentown is that one tradition that remains, warts and all. No it's not an NFL or major college stadium, and it saves all involved a ton of money as a result....and makes more for the corps because costs are low. the relationship with the city and the district goes back 40 years. it's always drawn well, even in the dark years, and recent years have been close to record numbers. it has a throwback charm for fans with the tailgating, and now with Flo, people everywhere can watch it. Any other major stadium within 2 hours of the region will drive the budget up substantially, and many aren't turf which creates an issue. flaws yes. hell the Dome old and new in Atlanta have had leaks. San Antonio is Texas in July. But the major fields in Philly are grass, not turf, and NJ will cost a small fortune. So would Annapolis The two years I worked the show when East was in Philly, 2001-02.... it was still East, but at the same time it wasn't East. Like you said... warts and all, there's something about Allentown. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said: there's a lot more that goes into it than the logistics, though they count for a lot. in an activity in which everyone crows about traditions, yet get chucked to the side daily, Allentown is that one tradition that remains, warts and all. No it's not an NFL or major college stadium, and it saves all involved a ton of money as a result....and makes more for the corps because costs are low. the relationship with the city and the district goes back 40 years. it's always drawn well, even in the dark years, and recent years have been close to record numbers. it has a throwback charm for fans with the tailgating, and now with Flo, people everywhere can watch it. Any other major stadium within 2 hours of the region will drive the budget up substantially, and many aren't turf which creates an issue. flaws yes. hell the Dome old and new in Atlanta have had leaks. San Antonio is Texas in July. But the major fields in Philly are grass, not turf, and NJ will cost a small fortune. So would Annapolis Jeff - You've made an excellent assessment of that 'old pair of shoes' we still keep in our closet . . . a true Eastern Classic! On the matter of the downtown Holiday Inn closing. The loss is for this year only. It has been purchased be a major developer and expected to re-open with a major re-do. There is a chance a portion of the newly refurbished Americus Center Hotel downtown will open before this summer. Much of the work has been completed. They list an opening during 2018, but no set date. For those who need a walk-able option getting to the stadium, the chances are pretty slim due to the Rod Stewart concert taking place next door to the new Renaissance Hotel. Maybe a good year to do Allentown by the Flo Channel. That's what I've been doing, despite living just 5 miles away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 8 minutes ago, Fran Haring said: The two years I worked the show when East was in Philly, 2001-02.... it was still East, but at the same time it wasn't East. Like you said... warts and all, there's something about Allentown. crowd was down too. Franklin Field is worse for parking than Allentown is 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 (edited) On 1/29/2018 at 5:18 PM, Jeff Ream said: crowd was down too. Franklin Field is worse for parking than Allentown is It was a nightmare even in the ‘70’s. At least the neighborhood has improved. It was scary bad back then. . Vagrants walking into the Horn arc... Edited January 31, 2018 by Terri Schehr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 I don't find parking a problem in Allentown. Usually I park in the lot of a local florist near Yocco's and the Sunoco gas station. It's $5 on Friday and $10 on Saturday. There is also ample street parking if you don't mind a walk. Traffic leaving is another story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandandl Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) Vagrants? That was the guard in their latest costume change. Seriously, there are several corps doing great outreach to the community including the poor, homeless, storm victims, and underfed. Blue Stars and Jersey Surf come quickly to mind, Crossmen have done great efforts too I recall. I remember the year Madison broke spring training rehearsals at Baraboo to help sandbag the flooding river there and save people's homes. One corps I know gave the local homeless free tickets for an evening contest and provided them with dinners from the corps' food truck. There are people who complain about problems and other people who are part of the solution. Kudos to these corps I named above. Edited January 31, 2018 by xandandl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 50 minutes ago, xandandl said: Vagrants? That was the guard in their latest costume change. Seriously, there are several corps doing great outreach to the community including the poor, homeless, storm victims, and underfed. Blue Stars and Jersey Surf come quickly to mind, Crossmen have done great efforts too I recall. I remember the year Madison broke spring training rehearsals at Baraboo to help sandbag the flooding river there and save people's homes. One corps I know gave the local homeless free tickets for an evening contest and provided them with dinners from the corps' food truck. There are people who complain about problems and other people who are part of the solution. Kudos to these corps I named above. What year was that with Scouts? I went up to Baraboo in ‘07 to see my kid at ST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandandl Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) 59 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said: What year was that with Scouts? I went up to Baraboo in ‘07 to see my kid at ST. They were at Baraboo several summers.Was it in the 2008-2013 range? Two of my sponsorees were marching guard there at that time. Yup. It was 2008. https://www.dci.org/news/madison-scouts-unite-on-the-banks-of-the-flooding-baraboo Edited January 31, 2018 by xandandl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandandl Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 1 hour ago, Terri Schehr said: What year was that with Scouts? I went up to Baraboo in ‘07 to see my kid at ST. https://www.dci.org/news/madison-scouts-unite-on-the-banks-of-the-flooding-baraboo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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