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Housing Issues pre-COVID???


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49 minutes ago, Fred Windish said:

Even if just 8-10 groups can set out for long distance, overnight travel, etc., that small number can represent all corps. Any corps able to run one-day-only trips, can perform at one of the scheduled tour days as it passes through their region. Everyone gets a chance to conduct a relatively normal season. One determined only by what they can handle while they regroup.

That does sound much better.  Thanks for clarifying!

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As far as I’m concerned, a 2021 Tour could be a ‘G-30‘ or any higher number. The greater the better!

:babies:

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Truthfully, I would not be surprised if just 8-12 groups choose to travel extensively. Arrangements will be difficult and accommodations too expensive for many corps, but not all.  

That is the tricky part.  There are many possible complications and variations, and a real need for the entire DCI activity to leverage their collective bargaining position to achieve the best housing/venue deals going forward.

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8 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:

 

That is the tricky part.  There are many possible complications and variations, and a real need for the entire DCI activity to leverage their collective bargaining position to achieve the best housing/venue deals going forward.

How much of a difference would it be for DCI to take the lead in housing, venues and (let’s throw in) transportation. My understanding is DCI is hands off except for Finals week venue and (maybe?) regionals. 

Throwing in transportation as thinking might get a better deal for the whole activity from a big company.

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16 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

How much of a difference would it be for DCI to take the lead in housing, venues and (let’s throw in) transportation. My understanding is DCI is hands off except for Finals week venue and (maybe?) regionals. 

Throwing in transportation as thinking might get a better deal for the whole activity from a big company.

That depends... largely on what DCI and their corps have to offer.

My word choice in my previous post was inadequate.  I was not thinking merely of bargaining over price. 

For instance, take just one possible path forward.  Schools are much better suited to the needs of the touring drum corps than any alternative housing/rehearsal site.  It may be worth a dramatic extra effort from DCI/corps to make schools our partners going forward.

DCI and their corps have many things they can offer schools.  A chance for otherwise empty facilities to make some desperately needed money over the summer.  Mentoring for local music educators.  Clinics for local band kids.  Instrument and equipment resale, leasing, or sharing.  And yes, perhaps the typical promise to "leave the facility cleaner than it was" can be expanded into a service to schools.  Maybe DCI and their corps should clean and disinfect their way back into the good graces of school districts all over the country, if that is what it takes.

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28 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:

That depends... largely on what DCI and their corps have to offer.

My word choice in my previous post was inadequate.  I was not thinking merely of bargaining over price. 

For instance, take just one possible path forward.  Schools are much better suited to the needs of the touring drum corps than any alternative housing/rehearsal site.  It may be worth a dramatic extra effort from DCI/corps to make schools our partners going forward.

DCI and their corps have many things they can offer schools.  A chance for otherwise empty facilities to make some desperately needed money over the summer.  Mentoring for local music educators.  Clinics for local band kids.  Instrument and equipment resale, leasing, or sharing.  And yes, perhaps the typical promise to "leave the facility cleaner than it was" can be expanded into a service to schools.  Maybe DCI and their corps should clean and disinfect their way back into the good graces of school districts all over the country, if that is what it takes.

To be clearer I wasn’t thinking about the money end concerning finding sites. My district is fairly affluent so last concern would be to make money. 
I was thinking more of what added resources would DCI need to handle this new duty.

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18 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

How much of a difference would it be for DCI to take the lead in housing, venues and (let’s throw in) transportation. My understanding is DCI is hands off except for Finals week venue and (maybe?) regionals. 

Throwing in transportation as thinking might get a better deal for the whole activity from a big company.

In theory having DCI manage the housing sounds good, but from the rumor mill (rumors on DCP? perish the thought!!) it sounds like DCI is having trouble merely keeping the phone manned.  To manage housing, they will need additional resource$.  Do the Corps arrange housing themselves, or is it local show sponsors, or some combination thereof?  I would think the local sponsors would be heavily involved because they understand the process and geography at their specific locations.  So, are the Corps willing to forward whatever $ they use to obtain housing to DCI?  And, how many people would it take for DCI to manage this?  And and, who does the Corps call at zero-dark-fifteen when they roll into town & the housing site is locked tight?

Also doing some math here - 

in 2019, there were ~110 competitions, and lets say 30 Corps (it was higher, but this fudges for Open Class Corps who don't do full tour).  That means DCI would need 3,300 sites to bed-down touring Corps.   Some for one night, some for multiple nights.  It may also be possible for some locations to house more than one Corps.  But, when you do the math, the magnitude of the problem emerges.  

Edited by IllianaLancerContra
to use more better English
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My direct knowledge of how DCI corps housing works is years old. However, in the past, the show sponsor was responsible to procure and pay for housing the corps assigned to their event. Initially, the Allentown Regional housing locations were booked by our local committee person, Bill Higgins. Bill was the ‘middle man’ between DCI corps and housing sites. Later on, after Bill and I retired from leadership roles, a DCI employee handled all aspects of housing.

One year, we were called upon to house a 56 corps event. We did it, but it included many sites that since dropped out of participation. School districts, private schools, colleges, Boys/Girls Clubs, YMCA, churches, community centers, a Children’s Home, a City Police Training Camp, and even a military base (Fort Indiantown Gap) were used.  All sites within 90 minute drive. Daunting task for sure. We can tell many stories, some that led to losing sites. In one case, we chased a very well known West Coast Corps Director up to the Boston Area and demanded immediate payment. We got it.

I would think the easiest way to obtain housing would be when the event was sponsored by a school band program. In a 5- corps event, that band’s own district could absorb the whole thing.

The situation grew tighter as sites used to serve the Allentown event were extended to service all other events 2 days before/after Allentown. My guess is, the other events’ housing difficulties became Allentown’s problem, in effect.

Years later, many of the sites utilized during the ‘56 corps’ Allentown days fell from availability. Even though the number Allentown of groups performing in Allentown reduced by half, the present situation is still difficult.

My expectation is, if there is a 2021 Tour, some corps will need to work deals with nearby hotels. Not as impossible as it might seem. Traditional housing in school gyms has gotten very expensive, too.

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Lmao Fred when I saw Indiantown Gap. Westshoremen, Schuykill Haven Belvederes (Jr) and sure other corps used “the Gap” for camps. Now with tighter security wonder if that is an option. Biggest security problem is a state road runs thru the middle and can’t close that road. Sister lives few miles west on same road and will see her tomorrow morning so ironic timing.

Hope no one is training with tanks or large machine guns tomorrow. We have a social distance visit outside and the noise echoing off the mountain gets on your nerves after a while. 😳

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Not all corps take good care of their housing sites every time... we like to believe that corps are always respectful and go out of their way to be good guests, but I think those of us that have been around awhile in various roles know this is not always the case. 

DCI did a lot of this to itself. 

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I’ll say what I don’t think many will... DCI is most likely done. From a financial and operational standpoint, unless there is a major infusion of money from another source, it will be almost impossible for the organization to pick up where they left off. If we do get back to touring, the landscape is going to change dramatically. Some of the familiar faces will be gone, tours will most likely be regional at best, and there could still be limited capacity at shows. DCI has been dodging bullets for years, but this one is probably the one that does it in for good.

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10 hours ago, soccerguy315 said:

Not all corps take good care of their housing sites every time... we like to believe that corps are always respectful and go out of their way to be good guests, but I think those of us that have been around awhile in various roles know this is not always the case. 

DCI did a lot of this to itself. 

it's a lot better now than it used to be.

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