brians Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 Minneapolis is not as far as you might think from La Crosse. Look at a map, La Crosse is much closer to Minneapolis than it is to Madison or Milwaukee and more centrally located to many Wisconsin and Minnesota communities in which the corps draws a substantial number of its members from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas T Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 And it helps to have an excellent relationship with a school in Minneapolis with excellent facilities, and people who can make it happen there! I would discount any rumors of a move.... totally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bscontra Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 (edited) Do you know how far it is from LaX to Madison, Racine or Milwaukee? It's at LEAST a four hour drive to any one of them.. As long as they are going to have to haul staff and corps administration somewhere outside of LaCrosse for audition camps, they might as well focus on locations where there are a lot of HS and College band programs that feed drum corps during the summer. Sometimes I think people lose sight of the logistics for crazy reasons. This is a different world we live in, folks. Just like owning a television is no longer a luxury for the "rich families" in the neighborhood, travel is no longer the prohibitive, difficult thing it used to be. It is often equally cost effective to fly or drive your people to another state as it would be to drive them to a place that might not be as advantageous in your OWN state. Amazing, huh? Stef not only that madison has scouts milwaukee has pioneer minnesota has no open class drum corps and is like 2 hours away, major airport, staff close by, and a good number of alumni to help out its like a jackpot any way you look at it !!| i wish they had camp where there having them now would would of been a shorter drive for me :) Edited September 29, 2006 by bscontra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexL Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 camps along I-35 makes it very nice and easy to drive to for anyone along the I-35 corridor through iowa, missouri, kansas, oklahoma, antd texas. Minneapolis just makes much more sense for monthly camps, with how many are flying in and out. Many flying into LaX probably would be flying into MSP and getting a ride over to wherever the camp was anyways, given cheaper and greater availability of flights into MSP. Camps have been held in the minneapolis area for a few years now, but everydays have still been in the LaX area.... the corps is far from abandoning its roots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearz Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 Yup, it just makes logistical sense. MPLS is the right place for all the reasons listed above, and no, the corps will not be moving. LaX is the central base for the alumni, staff and the history of the corps. LaX is the place where the Blue Stars are from, period. "Back in my day" as the saying goes (70s), traveling halfway across the country for a corps wasn't the norm, yet the Blue Stars were famous for the group of about a dozen people who drove every month from the south just to make practices. At the time, it was quite outside the norm. Now, it turns out, the Blue Stars were a trendsetter. Most Div 1 corps, from what I understand, pull their base from all over the country, so if they have pockets of areas where their members come from, it makes sense to send a few instructors there, rather than shipping 20-30 members up to Wisconsins/Minnesota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyRyder_FMM Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 No offence meant BUT;Just really hard to believe that NO Where in the entire state could be found. Not even in Madison, Racine, or Milwaukee. Where the corps hall is means Nothing. Ask Crossmen, Kavaliers or the Garfield,Bergen, Allentown Cadets. Let's see: La Crosse to Madison - 2.5 hours. Madison not a major airport hub, likely requiring connections through Chicago or Minneapolis. Oh, and there are a couple of other corps already there. La Crosse to Milwaukee - 3.5 hours. Milwaukee is not a major airport hub (though Midwest Express does have a lot of direct flights there from a limited number of cities), so connections again are an issue. Once again, through Chicago or Minneapolis. Oh, and htere is another Div I corps there too. La Crosse to racine - 4 hours. I won't even comment on the airport siutation there. La Crosse to Minneapolis - 2 hours. Minneapolis is a major hub for Northwest and Sun Country. No Div I corps to compete with in the area. Hmm, doesn't take a whole lotta thought to figure out that Minneapolis is a pretty good choice - just on transportation issues alone. Then there are the facilities issues others mentioned. This is a very smart move by the Blue Stars, and is nothing new for them. This is a very well run organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TickleMeElmo Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 (edited) Well, I live in Chicago so driving to Muncie or the Twin Cities will be a pain. I just wished they had a camp in Illinois or Milwaukee. I understand what they're doing, more camps in different states equals more talent and exposure for the corps. Edited October 3, 2006 by TickleMeElmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cire Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Good idea -- a national search for talent -- BD auditions in 3 states as well.. and two places in Cali * Bands of America o November 10, 2006 o 8:00pm - 10:00pm o RCA Dome & Indiana Convention Center Indianapolis, Indiana * Texas o November 18, 2006 o 9:00am - 9:00pm o Haltom High School 5501 Haltom Rd Forth Worth TX 76137 (map) * November Concord o November 25 - 26, 2006 o 10:00am - 5:00pm o College Park HS * Southern California o Saturday, December 9, 2006 o Time: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. o Riverside Community College 4800 Magnolia Avenue Riverside, California 92506 * December Concord o Saturday, December 16, 2006 o 10:00am - 5:00pm o College Park HS im sure a lot of corps are starting to do this, as it makes it easier for members to audition. i know bd, scv, cadets, cavies, boston.. all audition in different states Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAvery Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Minneapolis is not as far as you might think from La Crosse. Look at a map, La Crosse is much closer to Minneapolis than it is to Madison or Milwaukee and more centrally located to many Wisconsin and Minnesota communities in which the corps draws a substantial number of its members from. Weren't they at one time called the Minnesota Blue Stars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myname.com Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 No. Maybe you're thinking of the hockey team the Minnesota North Stars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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