BRAVO!
Jon FP 73
On Mon, 26 Jun 2000 14:06:52 -0400 dg50@daimlerchrysler.com writes:
>
>
>
>
> > 10k-50k people 'watch from the side of the
> > mountain' (often w/the help of generous amounts of schnapps, beer
> and
> saki)
> > at multiple events every year
>
> With enough fermented lubrication, people will watch _anything_ ;)
>
> > I guess the only thing to be learned here is that there is ALWAYS
> an
> > audience for something IF it captures their imagination.
>
> This point is well taken, and actually serves to amplify my argument
> that
> the road to "success" is paved with spectators. We are currently
> very
> spectator-unfriendly, and that needs to change.
>
> I've been working out a plan for what I consider a bare-minimum paid
> spectator event. When I say bare-minimum, I mean "what is the
> minimum level
> of extra activities that must occur on a ProSolo weekend to support
> having
> paid spectators with the minimum level of disruption to the usual
> well-oiled routine". And the mindset here is very much Mudville 9
> (vs Major
> Leagues). I'm talking grassroots spectating here, no frills, and no
> changes
> to the event procedure to accomodate the spectators - here's what we
> do,
> come watch.
>
> Some of the stuff is just a no-brainer scaling up of what we already
> have -
> more trashcans, more Blue Rockets (when was the last time you heard
> someone
> complain about too many porta-johns on site?) You also need a
> concession/canteen, which can either be run by the home region for a
> little
> more money in the kitty, or you sell the rights to provide canteen
> services
> to an outside caterer. The canteen may-or-may-not sell beer - beer
> increases revenue and the likelyhood of return business, but it
> potentially
> increases crowd-control and site cleanup issues.
>
> You also need seating. Not only to provide a good view for your
> paying
> customers, but having bleachers tends to concentrate spectators in a
> given
> area, which makes crowd control a little easier. Basic bleachers can
> be
> built fairly cheaply, or in many cases they can be rented.
>
> The killer tomato is crowd control. You have to:
>
> 1) Keep people from gaining access without paying
> 2) Keep people from wandering on course!
> 3) Reduce the amount of people wandering through the paddock.
> Paddock
> access is one of the little perks we'd have to accomodate (we want
> people
> to be able to talk to the drivers) but the route from spectator
> parking to
> the bleachers must NOT pass through the paddock!
>
> Segmenting most of the sites we run at currently isn't much of an
> issue
> (Virginia, you put the bleachers on the dirt area, with parking in
> behind.
> Harrisburg you split the current paddock in two (making it narrower
> in
> frontage, but deeper) and put spectators/spectator parking on the
> right,
> and paddock on the left. etc) Marking the controlled access zones is
> doable
> too, using ropes or that flag-tape used at Harrisburg, perhaps with
> some
> cones or sawhorse barriers at strategic points.
>
> But unfortunately, nothing short of an actual 6' fence is truly
> spectator-proof, which means all the access points have to be
> actively
> patrolled by a real live human being, who acts as traffic cop (and
> quite
> possibly, bouncer) The potentially confrontational nature of this
> job means
> that I don't think it can be made into a worker position, which
> means you
> need about 10 people working full-time security, which means they
> need to
> get paid somehow. You don't need Rent-a-Cops, just 10 burly boys who
> can do
> "excuse me, don't walk under that rope, the gate is over there"
> stuff.
>
> Anyway, I think that it's all doable with a little more advance
> planning,
> and there's no reason why there couldn't be a National Staff
> position or
> two for people specializing in spectator control issues at events
> (so each
> event would come with a Security Chief, courtecy of Denver, to help
> advise
> the event planners and to supervise the actual event security)
>
> While not *simple*, I think it's simple *enough* that one of the
> 2001 Pros
> could be a promoted spectator event, if planning started now. Try it
> out,
> and see how it goes, and make note of any lessons learned. If it
> goes well,
> then you increase the scope for 2002 to make every event a spectator
> event,
> and then if *that* works, then you start planning on how to make the
> spectator experience more enjoyable. Of course, now that you have
> paying
> spectators, the events are making more money, and it's a lot easier
> to land
> series sponsors if there's people in the stands....
>
> Baby steps.
>
> My vote would be for Peru. It's fenced, so external security is
> easier
> (aside from a couple of key points that need to be closely watched)
> and I'd
> bet that the event organizer _might_ even be able to swing security
> from
> the local National Guard unit in exchange for a little promotion
> (I've
> never met a Reserve unit yet that wasn't short on recruits, and a
> recruiting booth on a site where a bunch of 17-25 year old males
> were
> likely to congregate is enough to make any recruiting officer
> drool....)
>
> Anyway, it's doable. It just takes money, time, and the will to try
> it.
>
> DG
>
>
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