Celebration V should return to Indianapolis!

The thing is, it 'could' have been that hot in either Denver or Indy as well. The averages for all 3 cities are around the same, so it doesn't make sense to say that LA might have been hotter, when the same could be said for either Denver or Indy.

 

Denver Weather Issue: "Late Spring Storms" in Denver typically occur in the afternoon, last for 15 minutes to an hour and most of the time it's hard to tell it rained an hour after it's done. Also, when it rains in May, it just clears away the heat of the afternoon ro make it an even temperature all day. 90% of your Con time is spent indoors, so there's really not an issue with the occasional, fast moving storms.

Colorado Convention Center w/ GenCon Running Things in May vs. A Recently Converted Air Force Hangar w/ a Field in Late April w/ NO Money Running Things: This one is a no brainer. The poor folks that ran Celebration I did so with almost no budget, borrowing from some staff at a small local convention, and small number of volunteer. To quote the ad man... We've come a long way baby! Next summer the Colorado Convention Center will play host to WorldCon (aka Denvention 2008) and the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The convention center is fully equipt, centrally located, fantastic architechture, lots of bathrooms, spacious hallways and entry ways and surrounded by hotels, restuarants, 3 entertainment districts, 3 entertainment complexes, 3 sports complexes, an amusement park, several tourist attractions (museums, city/state buildings/parks) and retail establishments for all of your needs. Not to mention, there is the benefit of the Light Rail providing families with lower cost accommodations only minutes away from the convention center. Additionally, there is the free Mall Shuttle which runs up and down the 16th Street Mall, providing quick and easy access to everything WITHOUT walking 10 blocks through 3 contruction sites every time you want a sandwich without mortgaging your house.

Geographic Limitations for Denver: It's easy to get to for many people wishing to drive, but the real advantage comes for the air traveler. With daily direct flights from the Pacific Rim, Germany, the UK and Canada, Denver International Airport is large enough to handle the traffic and is a hub for United and Frontier Airlines. It also carries service from every major carrier, and many of the smaller carriers throughout the Midwest.

And if that wasn't enough... Let's look at what you can do within walking distance of the Colorado Convention Center.

Rockies Game @ Coors Field
Colorado Outlaws Game @ Invesco at Mile High
Colroado Crush Game @ the Pepsi Center
Visit to the Elitch Gardens Amusement Park and the Island Kingdom Water Park
Trip to the Denver Art Museum
A Walk Along the South Platte River Park
Checking out the Amphitheatre in the Denver Civic Center Park, as well as the various memorials and statuary there
A Visit to the Colorado State Capital with the Gold Leaf Dome
Get your picture taken at the Mile High Marker on the State Capital steps
Enjoy an art film at the Tivoli Starz Movieplex
Catch a play at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts
See a comedy show at the famous Comedy Works
Looks for souveniers while shopping on the 16th Street Mall
Hit the clubs in LoDo and the Larimer Street Historical District.
Make a pitstop at the Hard Rock Cafe & Coyote Ugly when you check out the Denver Pavillions for a movie at their megaplex (complete with a digital projection theatre).
Not to mention countless restaurants spanning the whole range of styles and affordability.

So, in a nutshell... High number of direct international flights, low cost airfare for domestic flights, access to more than sufficient numbers of retail/food/entertainment establishments, sufficient hotel space in close proximity, convenient access to low cost accommodations & transportation for families, and a convention center that is ready, willing and able to handle an event of this magnitude.


On a personal note... I hate having to walk my legs off after standing on concrete for 15 hours a day just so I can get back to my hotel. And then of course there's the fact that I could practically ride the X-Wing the 15 minutes it would take to get it from the museum to the Convention Center.

 

^^--- What she said. ---^^

 

Here, here! Denver for C5!

And we have some of the most beautiful mountain sunsets you've ever seen in your life. Just look at this view from Coors Field park in downtown.

[image=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/400002032_1a37ec0175_o.jpg]

 

I third. er.. fourth or fifth or tenth.. whatever we're on now.

 

To all the people that say they can't/won't go to C5 if it's in LA because it's not a "central" location, can I assume you also couldn't/wouldn't go to C5 if it was in New York, Orlando, Boston or Denver?

If so, does that mean it has to be in Indy, Dallas, Chicago or St. Louis before you would go? Basically within driving distance?

Maybe they should just hold it in Hawaii so that EVERYONE has to fly.

 

The part I find ironic is that we never see an International SW fan complaining here about the location of CIV (and the future location of C5 and C6). They are willing to fly 10+ hours to go no matter where the con is held. They're just happy there is a SW con, and could care less about where the location is. They seem to have no gripes about location, expense, etc. They're just FANS.

Here we are complaining about a little 4-5 hour plane ride and how there weren't any "things to do/places to eat" at CIV in LA.

I wish more of us would follow the International fan's thinking and just deal with the location of the SW cons. You want to go to C5? Great, see you there and let's party. Can't make it because it is too far from your home and can't foot the expense or get time off from work? Tough.

 

Agreed

 

Yup, I flew 10hrs to get to LA from Europe and honestly LA is still one of the more easier (=quicker) to reach cities for us.

 

I'm with JJ on this one. Personally I could care less for any nightlife, tourist stops, and even places to eat (for the most part). All I did for CIV was go to the convention center and then head straight back to the hotel via taxi. One day however, I went to dinner at a nearby Mikoshi (a Japanese noodle house mini-chain), which was really swell for me since I loved that place as a kid before the Orange County one closed down. Well anyway, I can live fine with only the bare necessities at a convention. Just consider that I won't have a Mikoshi if CV isn't in LA, since I need to relive as much childhood memories as I can, heh heh heh.....

However I won't throw a fit if CV isn't in LA. Depending on when it takes place, I could possible attend it if I have the will to do so.

 

I find it amusing that people are making a case for whichever city they want in this thread. Like Mary Franklin will read it and solely base the decision on what is posted here

I know we all have our preferred locations, but making long posts about the benfits of wherever here seems like a waste of effort to me.

 

I am also amused that people want it in 'suchandsuchcity' because it's the city that they live in. If you want to give reasons why it'd be a good city, then that's something, but leaving it at "I like Boise because that's where I live" is the lamest and most unconvincing reason ever.

 

Actually, I'm really enjoying the in-depth arguments for one city or another.

I'm learning more about these cities than I would have otherwise.

Had no idea there was so much to see and do in Denver, and about the airlines that fly through there!

Makes me want to visit Indy, Chicago, etc. as well...

Hope the "Big Lebowski" festival in Louisville, KY will be good next month (I'll be going to that one)...!

Martha

 

Oh come on now, you can't blame people for wanting CV to be as close as possible to where they live. Sure this line of reasoning doesn't take other fans into account, but then again it's impossible to please everyone at any rate. So why not be greedy, hehe?

Hmmm..... we should actually have a Celebration in outer space sometime in the distant future, if SW survives long enough.

 

For a family with small kids, distance is an issue. I would like to say that traveling with a 3 year old and 1 year old was a terror. The kids did well surprisingly, but having to get them through security and in shuttles and into a hotel for hours...it was terrible. Believe it or not the kids really do love Star Wars, my daughters first words were Star Wars. However, having the skywalks, like in Indy would have been very convienient for us. That way we could have just crossed over and gave them a break for a while.

However, I was thinking it may be nice to switch it up alittle. Why not have it in a different city each time. This way everyone has a chance for the revenue. I would put in a vote for Cleveland, Ohio...it has great sight seeing and a great nightlife, with the flats right in the center of the town. Also, hotels are on the cheaper scale, plus with all the woes over athletic events the revenue would be welcomed...lol.

I know that whatever we as fans want will not get. I mean lets be serious here, Moff is correct. Plus, they are going to choose a place they want, not what we want. Everyone has great points, but the truth of the matter is...we really do not count in this decision, sad but true!!!

LETS JUST GET ALL EXCITED FOR C5...

 

You know, just browsing this thread, I thought I'd share my two cents.

Basically, when I found out CIV was going to be in L.A., I was kind of disappointed, since Indy is only a 4 hour drive from where I live. This time, if I went, I'd have to fly and pay more money.

But instead of whining about it, I decided that because I wanted to go so badly, that I would find a way to get there. I had a year to plan. Thus, I got to go to CIV. I enjoyed the heck out of it.

The bottom line is that we can all wish for the closest city, or the most convenient flying destination or whatever. But ultimately, we should just deal with it and accept wherever they decide to hold it (unless, of course, they decide to have it in Papua New Guinea or something ).

 

AMEN....SITHLARD!!!!

Love the comment!!!

 

I've only been to CIII and CIV, but I'll throw in my 2 pennies.

I'm from the St. Louis area so having it in Indy was nice since it was in driving distance. We didn't buy CIII tickets early enough to get into any of the hotels right near the convention center, but I liked the convenience of all of the restaurants right outside the convention center. The Indy convention center did seem cramped though.

I had to fly to LA for CIV, but I didn't mind that too much. I just turned the CIV trip into an extended 2 week vacation. There is a lot to do in California that Indy just can't match. We bought tickets for this convention the first week they were on sale (before the hotel email came out from GenCon), but again we didn't stay in any of the downtown hotels. My uncle lives in Simi Valley so we stayed with him despite the fact that that meant we were looking at a 30-45 minute drive each way every day. Still, free lodging is hard to beat. We got pretty much all of the exclusive stuff we wanted and didn't have to wait in line for hours on end to do it. I think that's due to both better logistical organization by GenCon (finally!) and a lot more space to work with. I definitely think the larger LACC was a plus. I think I got to see and do a lot more at CIV than CIII simply because I didn't have to wait in long lines for everything. The store was obviously the biggest difference - 20 minutes to get what we wanted this time versus 7+ hours at CIII. I was a little disappointed to see that there really wasn't anywhere to eat in the area around the convention center though. I'm glad to see that's something that should be fixed should there be a CV and/or CVI in LA. The only thing I didn't like as much about CIV was that there seemed to be less content for lack of a better word. That's really because there's no new movie to promote this year though so that couldn't really be helped.

So, I guess I just echoed a lot of all of your thoughts. LA would be pretty much perfect if it had the surrounding restaurants and hotels that Indy has.

So, while a midwestern city is more convenient for me travel wise, I didn't mind this convention being in LA. I just used it as an excuse to take that California vacation I've been wanting to take for several years now. I wouldn't be upset to see a CV or CVI in a place like Orlando either - I could an excuse to take a vacation there again too; I haven't been to Orlando in probably about 20 years.

A little about St. Louis as a potential location. This would be most convenient for me travel wise, but would eliminate an excuse to travel to a place like LA or Orlando so I don't really care too terribly much where the next Celebration is. I took a brief look at the size of America's Center (the St. Louis Convention Center), and it might not be quite large enough unless you also use the extra space the connected Edward Jones Dome has to offer. Even then though, it's still going to be smaller than the LACC. Then again, the NRA just used it for 55,000+ people over a weekend this past April without even using the Edward Jones Dome, and it seemed to handle that load just fine. However, that convention is more like on big Exhibitor hall so I'm not sure how well it would work for a few large halls and lots of smaller halls. The hotels and restaurants would probably require a few blocks walk too, and some parts of St. Louis aren't great places to be walking around in, especially after dark. While there are a few things to do (there are places to hang out on the Landing a short Metrolink ride away), there isn't much in downtown St. Louis after dark.

 

I'd love to go to Papua New Guinea. Far more interesting than domestic travel.

 

I think one of the main problems is that there are a lot of young fans who want to go to cons but they're ability to get there is very limited. However, you can't please everyone so no matter where it is, people are bound to complain. I think it's in out nature.

 

Well, I'd love to go there too, but not for a convention.

 

One night the person at the desk of our hotel recommended a restaurant to try. So we walked up there...and it was closed for a movie shoot. That was a new one

...and then there was the one restaurant at one of the hotels that "is never open." Even though it had tables and all that...but apparently it never opens according to what one of the hotel staff told us. Alrighty then. That seemed a bit odd.

 

Yeah, true, Grimby. I was disappointed about the lack of nightspots, restaurants, and so on. Having to eat at La Cucina three nights in a row was just pathetic. I think downtown LA is largely for commuters, so it empties out at 7 PM or so. That doesn't make it ideal for us as tourists to be hanging out there all the time, though. If C5 is in LA also, we're going to have to find some places to go in another neighborhood, methinks.