Jump to content

Is It Time To Retire J. Birney Crum and DCI East?


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 34
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

There's an aura about Allentown and the stadium one gets nowhere else. And that extends outside the stadium where fans can walk straight through the corridor of buses and trucks lining both sides of the street to experience the logistical side of drum corps unlike any other place. Bob Bennett and his crew cannot be replaced. They are practically super-human.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

J. Birney was remodeled a few years ago with new seats and a new field.

It's not falling apart.

The costs to rent the Linc would be HUGE!

Plus, how is Bones gonna come up out of a cherry picker at the Linc??

See you tonight!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's an aura about Allentown and the stadium one gets nowhere else. And that extends outside the stadium where fans can walk straight through the corridor of buses and trucks lining both sides of the street to experience the logistical side of drum corps unlike any other place. Bob Bennett and his crew cannot be replaced. They are practically super-human.

You are very correct Michael. Allentown is a tradition. The restaraunts, the atmosphere. It is like a kick back to the bygone days of the activity. It is the total fan experience there. If DCI rolls to another dome, that is less money I will spend at a regional.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rutgers has a stadium that would work well for drum corps....but unfortunately over the years they has been difficulty with the Athletics department in getting USSBA and BOA shows there.

In 2000 Dan Acheson made a trip to talk to the Rutgers Atletics people for holding dci east during the JBC renovation years.....but nothing came about to make a deal happen.

However....at that time, Rutgers still had a grass surface..the stadium is now turf..so possibly it could handle the wear/tear of DCI corps for a two day regional show?

The dome in Syracuse would be interesing too.....it seems to works well acoustically due to a fairly close press box,....compared to some of the other domes I have judged at or competed in (St Louis, Indy, San Ant, and Tampa) I think it would be a great venue for DCI.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

College Park could work.

Also, how about Paetec Park in Rochester?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The stadium was renovated 4 years ago and is not falling apart. The very top section was lost but that is only a small section so the few people like me who always sit there will miss it but we can adjust. The stadium is still more than large enought for the event. Leaving Allentown would also hurt for several other reasons. The schools in the area are very friendly to the event and are conditioned to allow the corps housing. If you have ever run a drum corps show you know that the hardest part is lining up housing for your corps. The other reason is Bob Bennett and his outstanding staff. No other group in the activity comes close to pulling off an event like DCI East on the same quality level as Bob and his group. It would be a huge loss.

I have never seen the outer edges of the lower levels filled out for years. There is certainly enough room to take in the people from up top. This show has years and years of dedicated fans and DCI East Committee members who have made this show a real success. The park, the lake, walking amongst the performers, watching the warm-ups, picnics, seeing ducks fly through the valley, and housing sites are all things that would be lost if they moved the venue. Although it sounds like an idea to move it, would you really be gaining anything in the loss of paying customers from those dedicated people who come year after year. There is no doubt that it would take several years to rebuild the venue once again. There is no doubt that the cost of the new stadium might make it impractical to move especially when you add the thousand of hours it will take to find all new housing sites for that many corps. And you cannot imagine the struggle that the East committee goes through each year to pull it off. It has become a community supported standard in the Lehigh Valley, where moved to another spot it would become a "what's that?" when you tried to explain it. I have been told that it is there through the end of next year for sure since the date has already been set for early July. Hopefully in that time a resolution will come about with some hard work by DCI. My first year there was 1976 with the Blue Devils and I certainly would hate to see this piece of drum corps tradition be cast aside. I hope to be going there for many years to come. My compliments to Bob Bennett and the crew for all the work you do. There is no other group of people like this in the Drum Corps activity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IF we left Allentown behind, is there anyone who complains about the stadium and other things associated with the show as it is presently who would state that DCI is killing drum corps by leaving the fans and Allentown in the dust?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Move Allentown. If they can end Whitewater....then no site is sacred IMHO.

However...if they move Allentown...they have to bring the Ham Fam with it. I'll give a few bucks for that!

b**bs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another one I thought of- Ithaca NY at Schoelkopf Field. Hosted DCI in '74, and it's had some nice renovations done to it lately:

Cornell%20University.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...