I call BS on this. getting to SLC is cake from San Jo. I've been making the trip almost once a month for the last several years, plus a few times a year for the 12 years prior. 4-5 direct flights a day on Delta from SJ to SLC as well as the way back. Both airports are reasonably easy to navigate and the flight is less than 2 hours. Hell, you can go straight from SLC airport to the stadium in 15-20 minutes, get a cheap hotel nearby and be back in SJ by 10am the next day. Please feel free to explain how DC to HDC could be easier than that.
Compare the BlueDevil going to the US/Barbados game in LA on June 6 at 1:30 vs Me going to the US/ES game in SLC at 5:30 on 9/5. Assumptions Leave the stadium 2.5 hrs after start. Must be at game 1hr prior to start Take 30 minutes to pass out of airport Must be at Airport 1hr prior to departure Minimize cost where possible BlueDevil lives in Maryland so he's flying out of BWI. I used expedia for numbers. My Trip: 9/5 SJC-SLC 6:23am-1:26pm $140 SLC to Rio Tinto ?? - Cab or Car - $$ US/ES 5:30-8:00 $75 Rio Tinto to SLC ?? - Cab or Car - $$ Hotel- $50 9/6 SLC to SJC 9:25am to 1:32pm $140 Total Cost $405 Total Time 31hrs BlueDevil's trip: 6/6 BWI to LAX 6:45am-9:07am $109 LAX to HDC - Green Line Metro/Express Bus $5 US/Barbados 1:30p-4:00p $75 HDC to LAX - Express Bus/Green Line Metro/ $5 6/6 Redeye LAX to DC 10:13pm -6:11am $109 Total Cost $303 Total Time 23.5hrs I tired to do an honest comparison of these two trips. See if you can beat me. The SJC/SLC trip trades off time for cost. You could improve either to the detriment of the other. If it was my money it would end up like that. Problem with the SLC game is that you miss the last flight back that night and have to stay over. - Game ends at 8:00 flight leaves at 8:55pm Getting from SLC to Rio Tinto I assume would be done in a rental car - which would add cost and complexity. I think a cab could get you to the stadium but I'm not sure how you get a cab to pick you up there. In anycase that would be more expensive than the LA metro and you could always do the cab/car thing in LA too. The metro connection from LAX to the HDC works surprisingly well if you have the time. Try it you'll like it. And thats a killer fare for BWI-LAX. Pretty surprising eh? Cheaper, faster and easier going DC to LAX than SJ to SLC.
1. Your assumption that I would leave from BWI is wrong. DCA is the airport of choice for most people anywhere near a metro line. Seeing as I live across the street from one, DCA wins out 90% of the time, regardless of price (keep in mind to fly out of BWI, I would have to drive 35 minutes, park (paying $20), and wait for a parking lot shuttle both ways). 2. How many people do you know who will travel from DC to LA and back in one day? Are you nuts?! To even use that as a comparison is laughable, especially for a weekend game. So, that adds money for hotel and a rental car (if you think I'm getting around LA with no car, you're crazy). 3. You're calculating time in the day towards the trip. We're talking about just travel time - the time it takes for one to get where he needs to go. Unless you're flying through Atlanta to get to SLC, your commute to SLC will be much shorter than mine will to LA. 4. What am I supposed to be doing between the end of the game at 4 and my "flight" back across country at 10:13? Sitting in the parking lot with no car? 5. I'm glad you allow me a little time to explore LA before going to the HDC...oh wait, this is a race, so I don't get that kind of time. I guess no tailgating/pregaming for me. 6. And the kicker: Unless I leave Saturday morning at the buttcrack of dawn like you expect me to, I'm missing at least a half day of work to get out there. Half days' billable hours gone = FAIL. Total cost/ease/convenience to get DC-LA >>> Total cost/ease/convenience to get SJ-SLC
And you're a broken record. There are reasons why you're not getting these games. They've been listed a couple dozen times. You just don't want to hear them. You keep repeating the stat as many times as you want; it doesn't impress us any more than it did the first time. But thanks.
So if blazindw leaves Chicago traveling west at 1:00 EST, and OffMyLine leaves Salt Lake City going east at 11:00 PDT, and they're each going 65 MPH, at what time of the day will anyone else care? You guys listing your itineraries down to the second and the cent has very little to do with the process of deciding where the games should be played. At the end of the day, certain people will have to work harder and travel further to go to some of these things. Not everybody's going to be happy all the time, and not everyone's going to be able to pull it off. But the USSF has to do what they think is in the best interest of the USSF and the USMNT. Not fan X in LA or fan Y in DC.
I agree wholeheartedly, you're right. He brought my "itinerary" into the mix and I just felt compelled to refute his argument.
well, using expedia for your flight times is part of the problem. You can leave SJC at 6:15am and be in SLC at 9:09am (with losing an hour for timezones), and conversley leave SLC at 11:20am (for hangover sake) and arrive in SJC at 12:24p. Delta, grand total (air) $241 and 4 hours of air time vs. your estimated 11 hours of air time???
Sorry I missed that one - So you could do it $40 cheaper and 7 hours quicker. But that DC-HDC trip is still faster and cheaper.
I don't think the Whales have fielded a side yet - if they did I suspect they would be at a disadvantage having no legs to kick with. But their goalkeeper would be quite formidable. (sorry, just trying to lighten this thread up)
I'm wasn't really trying to get into a pissing match about the whole cheaper-faster-easier thing. My point was that getting here (slc) from San Jo is way easy and not too expensive. Personally, I almost consider it a West Coast match. Hell, a match in Seattle would technically BE West Coast, yet cost more overall and take nearly just as long for you to get to. Regardless, I hope you can figure a way to make it here in Sept. for the match. I know I'd be in SJ in a heartbeat if a match, friendly or meaningful, was to be played there.
sorry, but i couldn't let go of this just yet. Let me dispell the "faster" argument as well. I put the original return times for the sake of the"hangover". If you're just looking for fast, then take the 8:30am flight back, putting you in SJC at 9:34... there ya go 3 more hours saved and now SLC could be faster.
Sure 3 hrs faster but still slower than DC to HDC. Leave SJ at 6:15am return 9:34am - 27hrs total. DC to HDC was 23.5hrs. - It's the Redeye return that makes the DC HDC trip quicker. But the point is having the game in SLC doesn't really make it any easier for me. It's pretty much the same time commitment / effort for me to go to Chicago or DC. Once you're getting on a plane what makes it cheap and easy is a good competitive environment on the route your flying.
To whoever said Ford Field, Detroit, MI...Keep on preachin' brotha. I agree with that statement. Our economy is bad, but 12,000 or so went to the USWNT vs China in December. I can only imagine USMNT. Being a hardcore Detroit Lions fan, I know how crowded that place gets. A good 65,000 could crowd that stadium. Our economy is bad right now, and it would create job opportunities, and it would also put a little money into Detroits economy. It would be great to have a USMNT game here. I wouldnt mind USA vs Sweden in Detroit, 0 complaints from me.