uh-oh

[jazzfish]

. . . wait, Technicon, in addition to being in McBryde instead of an actual convention center, is shutting down at eleven PM?

I want to go this year: a couple days of solid gaming, plus Mr Martin and Ursula Vernon. It's growing more and more difficult to justify the time and expense, though.

Comments

[ranchonmars.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, I take a bit of umbrage to the idea that the con is just to expose students to scifi, and for VTSFFC alumni to meet. As neither, hearing that makes me feel like I matter less as a part of the Tcon community, but more than that, it makes me feel like Tcon is being seen as less than it is. I've always seen Tcon as another con that happens to be run by students, and as such is student- and alumni-friendly, but it's job was to be a con and do all the things cons do. The fact that it exposed the student community to scifi and let the VTSFFC alumni meet was part of it, but not the reason for its existence.

If the con staff *does* look at TCon as just a way to expose students to scifi and for the VTSFFC to meet, then it's going to wind up Inivisifest very soon. I don't think they do, though, which makes it all the more surprising that there was a hotel option that was discarded.

As far as the best of a bad situation, I guess it's how you look at the bad situation. Which is worse--dealing with the Ramada, or having attendance kneecapped? Attendance means money, money means Tcon 26. Location makes people happy or upset, and happy or upset determines reputation. Reputation helps determine attendance. And so on.

Maybe the Ramada really was the worst of the two; I wasn't there, so I don't know. I just know that the only reason I've heard for all the regulars not attending this year was the lack of a hotel site.

As for making it more convenient for students to go, that's a matter of who gets convenienced and who gets inconvenienced. Someone's going to get the fuzzy end of the lollipop. Either the students have to rent rooms or work out transportation, or the visitors have to commute and hope they can get a parking space within a quarter-mile of the con.

+1 Insightful

[jazzfish]

I have basically nothing to add to this, you've covered all the ground I could have wanted to.

One small nit: financially, they're so much better off having it in McBryde it isn't even close to funny, because the hotel is just that expensive. At least it was last time I was involved in Tcon, and that was at the Red Lion. I imagine they could have fifty people walk through the door at $10/person in McBryde and be in the black.

Re: +1 Insightful

[ranchonmars.livejournal.com]

If the Ramada simply wanted too much money, more than the con could recover from, I can completely understand that. Hotel rates in Blacksburg are getting insane, and moving into McBryde would be the best--only--choice they had then. Until tonight I thought that was the case, actually.

I imagine they could have fifty people walk through the door at $10/person in McBryde and be in the black.

That's definitely one silver lining. Hopefully they'll make enough off of admissions to keep the momentum going for Tcon 26.