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Post by OverAndUnder on May 23, 2007 11:49:27 GMT -5
The only cool thing I know about Dallas is that ball on a stick building that looks like tv's hardest working ED-compensating microphone:
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Post by AntennaMagnet on May 23, 2007 14:00:51 GMT -5
I just saw one of the news wires that Chicago is hosting the 2008 International Boxing Federation tournament, citing their interest in showcasing international sports as a prelude to the Olympic bid. Seems like USAVB has an obligation to show up in Chicago in 2009.
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usav
Sophomore
Posts: 154
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Post by usav on May 23, 2007 14:28:04 GMT -5
Hosting a boxing tournament does not need the space that 40, 50 volleyball courts does. There is only ONE facility in Chicago that can host a USA Volleyball tournament, that would be McCormick Place and to host a 10-day tournament during their peak convention season would prove FAR to costly for space rental as well as hotel rates....unless of course you'd be ok with doubling the cost of entry fee to cover those facilities cost not to mention the money from each club to pay $199-$299 per night for nearby hotel rooms.
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Post by silversurfer on May 23, 2007 14:28:56 GMT -5
Hosting a boxing tournament does not need the space that 40, 50 volleyball courts does. There is only ONE facility in Chicago that can host a USA Volleyball tournament, that would be McCormick Place and to host a 10-day tournament during their peak convention center would prove FAR to costly for space rental as well as hotel rates....unless of course you'd be ok with doubling the cost of entry fee to cover those facilities cost not to mention the money from each club to pay $199-$299 per night for nearby hotel rooms. Isn't Chicago already hosting a men's World League match or something? That seems more appropos.
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usav
Sophomore
Posts: 154
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Post by usav on May 23, 2007 14:52:35 GMT -5
Yes, they are hosting a World League volleyball match. Chicago was chosen partly because of the USOC bid to host the Olympics. The facility they will play in will most likely be the venue where indoor volleyball would be contested. June 15th & 16th.
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Post by AntennaMagnet on May 23, 2007 18:57:25 GMT -5
Actually, from what I recall during past meetings in Chicago, only a fraction of McCormick Place is ever used for conventions, and as someone else pointed out, the facility is used for the Asics games and the Mayor's annual sports festival. Also, my travel experience suggests that hotel rates in Chicago are no different than Dallas or Salt Lake City, and there have been numerous times Chicago hotels are offered for $99 per night. I don't know, it seems like every time I talk to the old guard, they poo poo Chicago as a volleyball venue and I just think that it is short sighted in the promotion of volleyball to not utilize major metropolitan areas for Junior Olympics. I mean, even if the profit margin is not that great at cities like Chicago, Boston, LA / San Diego and Seattle, the value - added to the sport's visability would be inmeasurable.
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Post by beachman on May 23, 2007 19:01:08 GMT -5
Unions drive up cost to the consumer, ultimately. USA volleyball negociates VERY low room rates for their championships (adult & junior), usually around $99-$109. Hotels in Chicago would a grain of salt would never drop their rates that low when they can EASILY get double for another convention or event. Chicago in the summer does NOT struggle for convention business compared to cities like Dallas, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City just to name a few. And you're wrong about the Great Lakes region not wanting "to do the work" to host Nationals because they're all "100 years old". Usually, the region has very little to do with hosting the event...it's usually run through a local organizing committee which is most often the convention and visitor's bureau or some type of sports authority. They plan and run the even along with the events staff at the USA volleyball national office. About 4 years ago Long Beach looked into hosting.....the bid packet was interesting to say the least.....to say that USAV is demanding would be an ultimate understatement....the dollar amount of the freebies that they demanded was in the tens of thousands of dollars category....plus they want everything handed to them, kind of like the NCAA in many ways....then you do have to have a huge cadre of volunteers, which is not as easy as it might seem.....Like I said, cities with successful convention business in the hot months don't and won't give away this kind of time to groups like USAV.....too bad, cause the usual locations just plain suck in the first week of July
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usav
Sophomore
Posts: 154
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Post by usav on May 23, 2007 19:20:12 GMT -5
They are demanding because they have to keep costs down to the teams. They have to pay for convention space, referees, staff, equipment, court rental, etc.
You show me a downtown Chicago hotel room near/walking distance from the convention center during a 10-day stretch in late June/early July that has a $99-$109 nightly hotel rate.
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Post by Go Iowa on May 23, 2007 22:54:40 GMT -5
They are demanding because they have to keep costs down to the teams. They have to pay for convention space, referees, staff, equipment, court rental, etc. You show me a downtown Chicago hotel room near/walking distance from the convention center during a 10-day stretch in late June/early July that has a $99-$109 nightly hotel rate. You won't get that rate downtown, but you'll get it extremely close by.
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Post by beachman on May 23, 2007 23:37:42 GMT -5
They are demanding because they have to keep costs down to the teams. They have to pay for convention space, referees, staff, equipment, court rental, etc. You show me a downtown Chicago hotel room near/walking distance from the convention center during a 10-day stretch in late June/early July that has a $99-$109 nightly hotel rate. I can think of a lot of places that I would want to be in July---CHICAGO AIN'T ONE OF EM! You won't get that rate downtown, but you'll get it extremely close by.
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Post by learning on May 24, 2007 10:12:07 GMT -5
Extremely close by? I don't think so, unless you think a 20 or 30 mile commute is close by.
Downtown Chicago is FABULOUS in the summertime. From all the Grant Park events to the beach volleyball to the museums and nightlife, summertime is when it is happening in Chicago and is the best time of year to visit this city.
JOs would be wonderful there, but it would be very very costly.
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Post by play4keeps on May 24, 2007 10:21:51 GMT -5
I would like to see those rooms also We are attending ASICS in June and got a room at lastminute.com for just under $200/night, one mile from McCormick Place. We are flying in because of the high price of gas, not to mention parking in downtown Chicago. We looked into staying in the 'burbs because of the hotel prices but honestly, when you then factor in renting a car, commute time, gas and still, parking, it was more cost effective for our families to share/split rooms with walking/mass transit distance. On another note, Minneapolis is kicking our butts with hotel rooms also. We cannot find anything within walking distance for under $200/night either so it looks like we're going to have to stay outside of town and rent a car there too. Woe to the teams who qualify late (at regionals like we did) because we could not get THS to give us rooms prior to that time and now there is nothing left.
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Post by Go Iowa on May 24, 2007 13:51:54 GMT -5
Extremely close by? I don't think so, unless you think a 20 or 30 mile commute is close by. Downtown Chicago is FABULOUS in the summertime. From all the Grant Park events to the beach volleyball to the museums and nightlife, summertime is when it is happening in Chicago and is the best time of year to visit this city. JOs would be wonderful there, but it would be very very costly. You could stay in the crap by Midway... it's not as expensive as downtown and it's only 15 minutes away from McCormick. You could even take the Orange Line in (God Forbid... I wouldn't, but you people could).
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Post by learning on May 24, 2007 14:05:59 GMT -5
Do you know Chicago? Midway hotels are 15 minutes away if you catch a cab right away and pay the $25 tab.
To catch the train from any of those hotels is a hefty hike, if not ridiculous, wait for the train, and and on the back end the schlep from the nearest train stop to McCormick (probably another cab ride). Impossible in 15 minutes.
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Post by Gorf on May 24, 2007 14:21:29 GMT -5
I would like to see those rooms also We are attending ASICS in June and got a room at lastminute.com for just under $200/night, one mile from McCormick Place. We are flying in because of the high price of gas, not to mention parking in downtown Chicago. We looked into staying in the 'burbs because of the hotel prices but honestly, when you then factor in renting a car, commute time, gas and still, parking, it was more cost effective for our families to share/split rooms with walking/mass transit distance. On another note, Minneapolis is kicking our butts with hotel rooms also. We cannot find anything within walking distance for under $200/night either so it looks like we're going to have to stay outside of town and rent a car there too. Woe to the teams who qualify late (at regionals like we did) because we could not get THS to give us rooms prior to that time and now there is nothing left. I did a quick Travelocity search for Minneapolis with the date ranges for the convention: Ramada Inn Downtown Minneapolis - lists having rooms available for ~$109 per night for the convention dates and its web site says it is ~1 mile walk from the convention center. Travelocity Downtown Minneapolis Search
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