Celebration V should return to Indianapolis!

From my own understanding from my friends who work for Gen Con, LFL chose LA just for now because of what happened at C3. The Indy Convention Center was to small. And they told ICC that it was and that in order to get them back and many conventions that we lost the past couple years was to expand the Convention center which they are working on. But as I said before if you have one in Indy it can not be before 2010, so they have time to finish the Convention Center.

On the note of walkies, I don't know why they didn't use them in LA but I know when Gen Con runs their main event every year they do have radio communication. Watched a guy get tackled for knocking Con-goers over one year.

 

I heard the same things mentioned about Baltimore and Orlando at the Official Pix breakfast by Steve Sansweet.

And I agree that people on this thread need to calm down and not attack someone about there post if they don't agree with it.

I think hearing both sides of the cause is good but when people start posting to "stop whining", "deal with it" and other terms like that it will start some animosity. And I don't think we want to start anything like that.

We all want the same thing a perfect location and perfect convention.
It will never be really perfect.

Indy had a better location as far as after convention activities,dining,hotels, and costs are concerned.

No offense to L.A. but these were common problem issues with the L.A. location for alot of people.

It isn't just about the convention itself ,it is also the location comfort level also.

The one fact is Gen Con did alot better job this time around I think we can all agree.

If CIV was in Indy I think it would of went as well as it did in L.A.

But they also have some more areas that they can improve upon, I think we all agree on that too.

I did enjoy Celebration IV itself but the location was ok as far as a one visitor's opinion goes. But I think if next Celebration is in a location that was similar to the cost, comfort, and convenience to the visitors of CII and CII then that will work out for the better of everyone going to the next Celebration.

Whether it be Indy or some other location that meets fan requirements
I just would like the all around complete package experience for the next Celebration.

 

Thanks for agreeing with me Martha / Angry_Leia. The LACC felt new and fresh - right down to the floor. The space theme in the art work and floor patterns only added to the wonderful movie-set effect. I felt like I was at the Jedi Trainig Academy - especially since I wore a Jedi costume everyday.

 

Gen Con staff did have them. Not every single member of the crew, but there were people around with them. The guy that was helping with the OPX briefing (I can't recall his name right at this point in time) had to take out his earpiece because they wouldn't quit trying to get his attention while he was talking to us.

 

Lufta, for me one of the best part about the LA location was the weather. It did not rain (I think the stats of it raining in May is close to zero). Everyday we had sunny skies. It was nice at 70+ degrees during the day with a very low humidity. At night it probably dipped in the 50s. It was never uncomfortable.

Leave your umbrellas & jackets at home and Bring it back to LA

 

Two years from now for C5 for the 10th anniversary of Episode 1?? Just means there would be one the following year for the 30th anniversary of Empire!!!!

I will put aside the fact that Indy is a 2 hour drive for me as opposed to a $300 plane ticket to the west coast. For that reason alone I prefer it to be back in Indy.....now I heard that the only reason Indy was not chosen for C4 was because that convention center was currently being worked on, so then the city of LA came into play. Not sure if that's true....but I do have other things against the LA area for C5.

I found everything in LA to be expensive compared to Indy. There were no Restaurants within Walking distance of the Con, unless you like McDonalds for five days straight. If you didn't happen to get one of the hotels on the list, and you had to go beyond the 3-4 block radius of the Con, then God help you if you were alone. I did not feel safe walking home to our hotel at night, so thankfully I was in a group this time. At C3 though I had my 7 yr old nephew and felt perfectly safe walking to a restaurant near the Indy Con, let alone walking to my car past midnight. No way would I have taken him to this convention with the surrounding neighborhood. Our group was hasseled twice by Cab drivers in LA and we were over charged two times. I didn't know what the construction going on next to the con was, but hopefully it's something that will benefit out of towners coming to convention, such as a new hotel or parking garage. I know in Indy I got a nice hotel about 15 minute drive from the Convention, so the cost to park (which was right behind the Convention center) was not expensive. Since i didn't drive this time I'm not sure what the parking situation was like in LA, but I didn't see any lots nearby.

On the Con Center itself, I thought it was a nice layout sorta. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't have a meal for under $10 unless I was drinking Fountain Water in a bottle I saved though. It was a little confusing though to try and figure out rooms and the layout. The convention had plenty of employees to assist, but it did take me about two days of walking around to figure everything out. I don't remember having that problem at Indy. And while yes I appreciate the fact the LA center allows everything to be more spread out and less constricted, I find that to be a little counterproductive. All that means is it takes twice as long to get from one event to another line!! Not to mention there were several times you had to exit the building itself to wait in line for an event. I don't remember that at C3. Thank God it didn't rain while we were at LA.

I'm totally in favor of going back to Indy for C5.

 

Agreed. Overstock doesn't mean they were expecting more people, just more buying. If they ran out of a ton of stuff last time, then it is likely they purchased more in order to avoid a lot of sellouts and complaints.

As for the attendance, from all the stuff I have read it seems the attendance was about the same ~33-35k people. Not bad. Also, all of the other Celebrations were in PROMOTION of the prequels. No such promotion for CIV. You would expect CIII to have the highest attendance due to the anticipation of the third and final prequel. I am sure people went just to get sneak previews, etc. Saying CIVs attendance was lower and therefore it was a bust and should be moved ignores the conditions that brought in fans to the last three Celebrations. Having attendance even remotely in the ballpark of CIV is a huge success IMO. (It might also seem like less people were there because there was MORE ROOM)

 

And Indiana isn't in tornado alley? I have lived in KS my entire life, and the closest I have ever been to a tornado is 2 miles. And that was an f1 that touched down for about 15 seconds at an executive airport. Also, since I have been alive I cannot remember a time that a tornado hit Kansas City proper, which in regards to the convention centers, sports teams and downtown is actually in Missouri (which isn't in the top five states for Tornados). Eastern Kansas doesn't get many tornados at all. Believe it or not it is a little too hilly and has too many office buildings for the proper updrafts to occur. Additionally, your own state has more tornados per square mile than KS or MO does: http://www.tornadoproject.com/toptens/topten1.htm

Either way, as nice as it would be to have a Celebration at my home base, I don't really think we have enough hotel space that is near the convetion center here. Our hotels around the convention center are set up more like they were in LA versus Indy.

Of course ultimately I would like to see it in Orlando. That would turn into an awesome two week vacation

I will say that if it is in California again I would rather see it in Anaheim versus LA though. Anaheim seemed to be a bit easier to naviagate and find grocery stores and restaurants than LA even with GPS. Not to mention hotels are cheaper.

 

Nothing can beat the price and extracon activities that Orlando has to offer. I lived there for 7 years, and the biggest major drawback is the heat. LA was fine, but it was way too expensive.

 

As the person who started this thread as as a strong advocate for returning C5 to Indy, I would say that Orlando also would be a very good choice.

 

Orlando would be great - EXCEPT that I'm a 501st Snowtrooper, and I don't think I'd be able to survive the heat+humidity in full gear . It's bad enough here in Virginia!

LA worked very well for us weather-wise, and the convention center was perfect. All convention centers have ridiculously expensive food, so that wasn't a surprise. The real surprise we had was that there was no food to be found near the Westin after 10 PM at night. Yikes! But they are working on that City Center thing which will have more food and such, so hopefully that won't be an issue if CV is there.

 

no way. do it in california. maybe here in san diego..the convention center here is really nice..LA is way crazy and the prices are outrageous

 

In all honesty, I really don't care where C5 will be held. I'm gonna be there with my wife no matter what the location. Obviously, being a NY-er, I would prefer a location close to the East Coast. I'd be lying if I said otherwise.

But in the end, all I care about is that there is a C5 (and C6) to go to. With 2+ years to go before the con is actually held, that gives me more than enough time to start saving for the cost of the trip.

 

Now I won't be going to CV or CVI. I had a blast a CIV, but honestly, LA cost WAY TOO MUCH MONEY! I spent a fortune on this trip.

In my opinion..........Star Wars is over. I know some people are excited about box sets and the clone wars cartoon and the live action series, and that's cool. I just wouldn't have any interest in going to another Celebration. As fun as CIV was, I felt it was empty. At CIII we had something real to look forward to. Revenge of the Sith was coming out. It was something new and exciting.
Maybe once the live action series starts it might change. If the new characters are good and they attend, I would change my mind.

Now, don't get my wrong, if CV or CVI is in Philly or NY, I would go. I'm within a few hours driving distance to both. I just don't see myself flying half way across the country for the same thing 3 times in a row.

 

Living in SoCal I'm obviously in favor of holding in LA again; for the simple reason I can't afford plane tickets and now way am I flying alone. Taking the Greyhound was bad enough!

But I know there's a lot of Star Wars fans around the country (indeed, around the world) who all think it should be held where it's close to them. Others don't care where it is, as long as there is one.

This may be vetoed instantly, but how about having seperate, smaller Cons around the country? Like maybe the Star wars Science exhibit, have it move around all summer, each week being in a different city. Yeah, I know part of the fun of Celebration is making friends from all over, but at least this way more people would have a chance to see what celebrations are like. This was my first Star Wars convention, and I'd hate to think it was also my last.

As for Star wars being 'over', I respectfully beg to differ. As long as there is Star Wars media (paper, internet, movies, TV, etc) there will be fans. And as long as there are fans, there will be conventions. Whether only in your heart or broadcast in a million different languages, Star Wars is forever.

 

I understand why C4 wasn't in Indy this year. Waiting hours and hours just to get into the place does not sound like fun. In LA there never was wait to get into the convention once it was open. My question is more of why it was in LA.
Before I went to the convention, I thought it was so more stars would show up. This Obviously was not the case.

Reasons for LA:
Nice weather
Huge convention center
Other things to do there

There are soo many other places in the US that have these qualities. (Maybe not the weather.) If it was in FL they should make it earlier in the year. Not only is it cooler but it is also more cheaper then. Again distants would be a problem for most people. Hardly anyone would drive to location right on the coast.

The perfect place: (Once you agree on exactly what you want then picking a location is easy)
1. More centrally located (I think anything over 6 hours and people would want to fly)
2. Cheap cost of living
3. Hotel space within 10min walking distance. (The closer the better)(I also think if there is a good shuttle service this wouldn't be a huge problem.)
4. Nice weather
5. Things to do other than than the celebration
6. Places to eat around the covention and hotels
7. Safe City
6. Big convention center (Not to big that you have to walk a long wasy to get through it.
These are not in any order.

 

What would probably be most fair is that each Celebration shouldn't be in the same city as the last one it was in. I'm sure there are many SW fans who would love to go to a Celebration but can't afford it simply due to travel costs alone. Moving it around would eventually give most people a chance to attend at least one.

 

This is just my personal opinion. I will always be a fan, but I have a hard time celebrating the same thing over and over.

Now, I posteed the same idea you just posted on another message board. Why can't we have more Star Wars conventions on a smaller scale. Have an annual world tour. Like 5 to 10 cities. That would be fun.

 

Not that we have any influence (or maybe we do!), but I'd like to throw my hat in the ring for CV in Seattle! Sure, sure I know CV is probably staying in LA but after seeing opinions on other cities, what the heck.

I can't find the overall sq. footage for the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in downtown Seattle, but I've been in it a few times and it looks like it would be plenty large enough to accommodate a Celebration event without having to walk a ton to get to each hall.

The location of the CC is great -- smack dab in the middle of downtown SEA. Tons of hotels around, great restaurants, right in the middle of the shopping district. I thought CIV in LA was great because while the convention center area was not the best in LA, the side excursions were fun. (Disney, Universal, etc.) While maybe lacking in the theme park area, Seattle has tons of excellent side excursions and great food! Walking distance from tons of hotels and restaurants.

The drawbacks I see are for those that want it alternated between the coasts and the fact that Seattle is up in the NW corner of the country. Outside of that, an ideal location.

Another bonus is that GenCon is HQ'd right in Seattle! Yes, I've seen people question GenCon and talk about them handing over reins to someone else. Assuming that doesn't happen and assuming GenCon retains the rights to SW Celebrations, it would give them a great advantage in planning and setup to have the event right in their own back yard. That advantage would be able to be passed on to attendees in further improvements to the convention.

I know what you're thinking. But what about the weather in Seattle? Doesn't it rain all the time? Actually no. Not nearly as much as people think. (But Shhhhh, not supposed to reveal that to out of towners) The climate is very mild. Spring and summer, very comfortable. I was in LA last week at CIV, but the weather in Seattle was low 80's, actually a little warmer than LA at the time. Even in the chance that it rained, the venue would not be Mudstock!

Indy is a nice town but I think these events should be put in cities with a little more infrastructure built around the convention halls, as well as more extracarricular activities. Star Wars is enough but it's also nice to be able to make a large vacation out of it just like we did with LA. Indy doesn't really cut it in that area, outside of the convention itself.

Outside of my bias for Seattle, I think Orlando sounds cool. Again, because of the extracarricular activities. But I would vote for LA over Indy. My ultimate vote - Seattle. I think people would love it and there are MANY cool SW fans and fan clubs here.

 

A lot of good points against LA are brought up in this thread,(Namely the expense, hotels too far and lack of amentities near the con center) but some of these whining and crying about the LACC ones drive me nuts.

The Con Center was TOO big and I had to walk too far?! Look, I'm as fat and out of shape as the next nerd, so I made it a point to get out and walk several times a week for the months leading up to C4. Ever been to a theme park or a big Zoo? It's the same deal. You can't go and expect not to have to walk around a lot. Laziness or not realizing that you'd be walking all day is not a knock agaist the Con center. It's a knock against you if you use that excuse.

Not being able to find things in the center/ too complex of a layout? You had a map. A VERY easy to understand map. The halls were all clearly named and marked. Meeting rooms were simple too. 300's above the South hall, 400's above the Concourse stage and 500's above the West Hall. What was so hard? Two main halls connected by a concourse hall.Each hall had two levels. It took me all of one exploratory walk through on the first day to know where everything was. If you got lost in the LACC, you would have gotten lost in Indy or anywhere else. Some are even more complexly laid out than the LACC and many don't have nearly as good signage as the LACC does to help you figure it out.

The other one that makes me nuts is this one. LA is not as convienient to travel to as Indy. It is more EXPENSIVE to some, but convienience is relative. There are SOOO many more people within a 4 hour drive to LA than Indy that it is not even close. The Greater LA area alone has 14 million people. Then Factor in San Diego, Vegas and all of the lower half of CA and you are pushing well above 25 million - 35 million if not even more. So it's probably MORE convienient to MORE people in LA. Those of us coming from the East Coast still hafta fly either way. Just longer and more expensive.

Just because Indy would be more convienient for YOU, does not make it so for everyone! Please stop saying it does! It's just not the case. What about all the CA fans? Seattle Fans? Arizona Fans? Denver, Texas, Oregon, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah... It's LESS convieninet to ALL of them. Why is it no one that posts about this seems to have any perspective on this sort of thing? A lot of CA fans thought it was totally unfair that Indy had 2 Celebrations in a row anyway, for that very fact. Anywhere you might hold a convention like this would alienate a tremendous number of fans and by the same token, any location would also open it up to many fans who won't or can't afford to travel a long distance.

So Let's get creative about a location for a C5. How about Vegas? Chicago? Dallas? Orlando? Atlanta? Minneapolis? Charlotte? Washington DC? They each have pros and cons too, but why not them?

As for the folks that think you HAVE to have an Event to have a celebration... Why can't we celebrate our Fandom every 2 years? I mean come on, C4 REALLY had no "Event" tied to it. The 30th Anniversary is a date on the calendar. Nothing more. Did anyone REALLY come only because it was the 30th Anniversary? We came because it was Star Wars. And I'd come for 32 or 33 or 40 or 51. I would have thought this past C4 would have proved that if you hold it just about anywhere with a good enough facility, people will come, cause once I got inside the LACC AND the ICC it did not matter to me one bit what city it was. It was all about Star Wars and I was having a blast. If you are only a fan of the movies, then maybe Star Wars is over for you, but if you like more than just that then it really is forever as they kept saying ad nauseum at C4. There are Books, Comics, TV Shows, Collectibles, Costumers, Video Games, Toys... I for one found it a bit refreshing that they were not pushing a movie in my face every 5 minutes. It was a more pure fan experince to me. Not just a prelude to a movie I would have seen even if I did not go to Celebration. I CHOSE to travel across the continent to Commune with with like minded peop

 

Weather MUST be considered for the next con! Especially for those who wear costumes! Dallas in May is sweltering! I've been there many times.
The rest? Chicago, Minneapolis, Indi - what's the difference?

The point about having it in the middle of US is that it's the same distance from each coast.

 

My husbands extended family is from LA and we stayed with them for 4 days after the Con. They said the weather was unseason-like...that it is usually hotter. They actually blammed us...saying that we brought our Ohioian weather with us, meanwhile back at home it was humid and sweltering...lol.

I remember traveling to LA 5 years back and it was much hotter than too, so hot we went out later each day to avoid the heat. The ocean breeze helps too, but not at that time.

I must say I am still head over heels for Indy, but mainly because I have kids and the skywalks came in handy last time, as well as the shortness of distance to the Con. Being closer to us has no bearing...but I do have to say Celebration Europe enticed us because the cost of airfare was only $50 more and we could have stayed with my extended family there, but we kinda figured we would prolly not run into great peeps like yourselves there, so we stuck to the USA.

 

I'll be the first one to admit that the area AROUND the LACC sucks. And it must have been frustrating for some that had to take a shuttle or, (shudder) the bus.

But I think everyone has to agree that the LACC ITSELF is hands down better than Indy.

Now after Indy finishes thier construction? Who knows. We'll have to wait and see.

But LA broke ground on Monday on the new hotel/condo/mall across the street from the LACC. I'm unsure of how many hotels are going up but the radio mentioned 1 that will have over 1000 rooms by itself. (52 stories high) One of the city council idiots then went on and on about how this complex is also going to bring in more businesses in the surrounding area. More stores, restuarants, bars, etc.

But we'll have to see how it all pans out. It sounds like both Indy and LA are going to finish construction in 2010. Not good if C5 is in 2009.

I like LA better than Indy. For all of you that said it's expensive, is New York or Orlando going to be any cheaper? I doubt it. How about Vegas? That place hasn't been cheap in 15 years.

Is Indy REALLY cheaper? I don't think so. My wife and I ate dinner at St. Elmos in Indy...$130. We had dinner at The Palm in LA...$135. Were the consessions in Indy cheaper? I don't know, I didn't buy any because 1) They were sold out, or 2) I didn't want to wait in the LONG LINES. The longest food line I waited in LA was 5 minutes when I had to wait for a pizza to come out of the oven.

Another negative for Indy is that if you're coming from the west coast you can't get a straight flight. We had to layover in Dallas both ways. My brother-in-law had to layover in Chicago. At least in LA, (or New York and I'm assuming Orlando) you can get a straight flight from pretty much anywhere in the country.

 

Oh dear with the thread.

I will go to the next Celebration any where except Denver. We were in the middle of bad storm there.

So the next one will be in two years? 2009?

Some good points about the last convention were. The lines were not bad. The shop line was fast.

We could find some portable toilets across the street. I don't remember see any in Indy.

The bad part in Los Angeles were the restaurants.

I have nothing else to say.

 

I don't know if it will ever be honestly considered, but if Indianapolis was then Minneapolis should be too. I know two seperate people who went to trade shows there in the last few years and they could not stop raving about the experience. The CC is bigger than Indy and nearly as big as the LACC minus the Underground hall, which was not used anyway. Expanded last 5 years ago. There are dozens of restaraunts and hotels within easy walking. Plenty of other diversions closeby. Lite Rail goes to the Mall of America. The ENTIRE downtown is connected to a skywalk system. While I'm sure you still wouldn't want to hold an event in the dead of winter, If it rained in the Spring or was unseasonably cold it is no problem there.

This map is impressive: http://maps.mapnetwork.com/minneapolis/cvb/index.asp
Check it out with Skyways, Hotels and restaurants checked, and you'll see what I mean.

What are others suggestions?

-Doc