I think even USASF knows they're going to have to switch venues at some point. They're not oblivious. They probably are under contract though and would have to make venue change decision more than a year before the event will take place. What all of these ideas CAN do, however, is provide a stop gap, until a larger venue can be found. They already have dates listed on their website for the next few years, so they're probably not moving out of ESPN before then. But something HAS to be done, we can't keep repeating the madness of Worlds 2012.
Agreed, I don't believe they are oblivious either. But this isn't the first time the Milk House has had issues with overcrowding. Just because they know there is a problem, doesn't necessarily make them feel obligated to fix it.
And I'm trying to be as realistic as someone with first hand experience. Just citing some examples of proposed solutions:
Jumbotron - Let's be honest who here that was at Worlds would be ok watching the jumbtron? Sorry USASF, no matter how many times you try to sell it to me, I'm not going outside to watch it. If it was that viable an option, those parents/fans would not have had to be shuttled in and shuttled out. They'd all go to the jumbotron and problem solved.
Advanced ticket sales - I am too lazy to go count the number of unique gyms that attended, but I'd guess easily over a 200 US teams alone. Now add to that the number of international countries that attended as well. And we think the USASF could manage to set up a system to contact and keep track of reservin/selling/distributing advance tickets to each of these gyms? Which most likely couldn't even be finalized until the registration deadline passed.
Tiered pricing/reserved seating/session seating - The Disney staff does a pretty could job validating tickets at the main entrances. But the back entrance to Jostens is a joke. There are also several unmonitored doors to the Milkhouse. Once inside, they are lucky if ushers can keep up with kicking ppl off staircases. They are going to have to quadruple the manpower if now they are not only checking tickets of who gets in, but making sure each person is in the seat they are supposed to. We worry about Worlds taking too long already. I could not imagine them taking an extra 30 mins to shuffle folks in and another 30 mins to shuffle folks out every time they change divisions. With all that said, some form of this is prob the most realistic, because it has more to do with manpower than brainpower. But who honestly would be happy coming all the way to Worlds having to choose one single division to come watch?
A venue change NEEDS to happen to keep the paying customers happy. However, if USASF and Disney are making money regardless, than there is no reason for them to break the status quo. Until the interest dwindles to the point of them losing money, or they find a way to make more money, I see no reason that they'll ever do more than band-aid solutions that don't make the fans and athletes happy. The whole situation is just bizarre because to me, NCA Nationals seems to run just fine. And when was the last time you heard anybody complaining they couldn't get in to watch? Why is that? Perhaps because a larger venue solves a boatload of issues?