Location, Location, Location - Where are we going to do this? (City)

[Tim]

Ok guys, we need to create a "short list" of possible locations, do some rough cost estimates and make a decision (probably within the next 2 months). So far the list is:

Las Vegas, NV

PROS
Plenty of hotels, conference facilities,
Cheap airfare
Abundance of MMA gyms
No shortage of social activities when we get tired of baggin' (I'm just saying, it could happen, right??)

CONS
Not a family oriented destination, generally speaking.
West Coast - not a "central" location (compare to Dallas)

Orlando, FL

PROS
Affordable hotels
cheap airfare (need to confirm, I know Vegas is cheap, but never flown here because I live here).
Family oriented theme parks and other activities

CONS
East coast - not a "central" location
A few gyms, nothing spectacular though. I've not seen any with a decent number of speed bags. (Ruffo's is 2.5 hours away)

Dallas, TX

PROS
"Central" location, feels fair to everyone

CONS
Not as many social activities??? (I mean compared to Orlando and Vegas)

Los Angeles, CA

PROS
Proximity to stars
Good promotional possibilities & exposure

CONS
??? I don't know

Kansas City, KS

PROS
Home base for Ringside/Titleboxing
"Central" location

CONS
Not a fun filled travel destination for families (Hey - I'm just sayin' , I've been there, it's ok)


Please tell me your input , let's discuss this and figure it out !!! Who is familar with these locations? Do we have anyone that's actually been to Ringside and/or Title Boxing in KS? What is their facility like? I know ringside hosts a boxing thing every year. Would they host us ??? Especially now that they are in good graces with Everlast ????

[metaldad]

Maybe Chicago is too expensive? I don't know about the gyms around town.....actully maybe Chicago in the summer might be too hectic, Sox, Cubs, The Blues Fest in June, The Taste in July, Lollapalooza and The Air and Water Show in August. during busy seasons prices get jacked up for certain amenities if I'm not mistaken. It is a great and easily accessible city with lots to do, family and non family, I'm just not sure about cost : travel, lodging, space to hold the event

[spinsmashpop]

Ok guys, we need to create a "short list" of possible locations, do some rough cost estimates and make a decision (probably within the next 2 months). So far the list is:

Las Vegas, NV

PROS
Plenty of hotels, conference facilities,
Cheap airfare
Abundance of MMA gyms
No shortage of social activities when we get tired of baggin' (I'm just saying, it could happen, right??)

CONS
Not a family oriented destination, generally speaking.
West Coast - not a "central" location (compare to Dallas)

Vegas definitely isn't bad...makes sense in many ways....

Orlando, FL

PROS
Affordable hotels
cheap airfare (need to confirm, I know Vegas is cheap, but never flown here because I live here).
Family oriented theme parks and other activities
CONS
East coast - not a "central" location
A few gyms, nothing spectacular though. I've not seen any with a decent number of speed bags. (Ruffo's is 2.5 hours away)

I was going to say the family thing isn't really a priority. But then if you fly the wife and kids too, they could make a vacation out of it... but then on the other, that's not the same as dad being there, he will be wrapped up in speed bag world, and as we all know, if you ain't speedbagger, you don't really want to hang around a speed bag vibe for more than a couple minutes...
Sooo. while you mention Orlando... I cna only think that we should have it at Skunk's gym.... but being that it is a bit off the beaten path, getting medi coverage, (which is what we want to spread the word and get at least at noted as the lumberjacks!...it will be difficult in Lake City.... Vegas, LA, would make it so easy to get publicity.... but in FLa, we can have Stacey Stay Lo REile make a guest appearance and sign some stuff, etc...


Dallas, TX

PROS
"Central" location, feels fair to everyone

CONS
Not as many social activities??? (I mean compared to Orlando and Vegas)

It's cool, for our little group of speed baggers it is central and all that for traveling... But... I always revert back to getting this thing out to the masses.. the more the merrier.... maybe we FIRST need to reach out to Stallone or Million Dollar Baby star Hilary Swank, or even Eastwood!!! Or Mayweather, or Pacquio, or anyone notable who bags....shoot big... man Skunk knows Big John McCarthy..... just get a feel to see if there is interest.... and I'd end one of the nights with a concert by a cool band.. that can take dough.. but I know people and could probably put a cast of characters together and play a great set of rock hits! No prob! just gotta do this when I am not on tour... I will know that stuff by Feb or so of next year.... is that too late... I can also tell Foreigner I intend on being apart of this... maybe they play.... maybe they book a gig that weekend in Vegas.. tie it into the convention.... who knows.... every night Mick announces me a a future leading speed bagger or something to that affect! haha.....


Los Angeles, CA

PROS
Proximity to stars
Good promotional possibilities & exposure

CONS
??? I don't know

Cool.... I keep leaning to Vegas and LA.... it just seems like we can get a lot more exposure with not as much hassle of geography to the people that can make a difference if involved.....

Kansas City, KS

PROS
Home base for Ringside/Titleboxing
"Central" location

CONS
Not a fun filled travel destination for families (Hey - I'm just sayin' , I've been there, it's ok)

If they are offering a facility or helping out, that is cool. But I think if they are into it, they will do what they can regardless of where it is.....
BAG ON!


Please tell me your input , let's discuss this and figure it out !!! Who is familar with these locations? Do we have anyone that's actually been to Ringside and/or Title Boxing in KS? What is their facility like? I know ringside hosts a boxing thing every year. Would they host us ??? Especially now that they are in good graces with Everlast ????[/QUOTE]

[Speedbag]

Vegas or Orlando is fine with me. I've been to Vegas a lot of times for sporting good shows, vacations and as part of my past job with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. travel is easy, cabbies are friendly and a lot of the smaller casinos or centers "off the strip" will probably make a deal. My wife loves vegas and cares little to hang out listening to me talk about the speed bag. (like she's never done that before... :rolleyes: ) The downtown casinos would also probably cut a deal, and the downtown walk on Fremont Street (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Street_Experience) is fun.

Orlando is also cool, with lots to do for families. And in either location there is a Blue Man Group show we could probably get a group discount on tickets.

I've been To Ringside Boxing in Kansas City back about 12 years ago. They have some equipment demo's set up but not really a baggers paradise. Never been to Title Boxings location but I know the folks there. Gotta remember those are sales locations, not training gyms.

As for hitting we could use free standing floor frames with stabilization straps attached to at least get the bags going. On the other hand, we COULD hi-jack the Foreigner speed bag truck, hook up 10 or 11 more speed bag units inside and park it in front of Tim's place, or by the "convention hotel" wherever that is.... (That would be a pretty hot punch in the summertime). Now that it's a full trailer, that would work.

[SpeedBagSkunk]

Now hold up for just a second. Before we get to far ahead of ourselves. We need to think.. I mean come on 8 bags at one time with 8 speedbaggers is going to sound like "Thunder or an Earth Quake" So attaching to any structure is WAY out of the question in my eyes. I have 8 platforms That are attached to a steal building and OMG it makes a awesome sound. BUT to anyone else they might be calling the fire department. So the question i have is HOW MANY BAGS do we need. 8 baggers at a time seems like a easy number but like Tim is saying making a speedbag cage that continues for 8 on each side would be Fin awesone. I think we need to find the place and then find out WHO is going to help us: EVERLAST, RingSide, Title, ect. If we make the budget too high lots of people wont be able to make it. Lets face it most of us just normal hard working people that LOVE to speedbag. I know im no Baller$$$ I dont mind helping with money by no means at all im just saying it will start to be a pretty penny if we get 16 speedbag platforms, all the wood we need to build, Stars, Airfare, Hotel, Food and Expences as well as a few other things. Thats why im thinking we need HELP!!!! So all of us need to shout out to sponsarships that will help us put this together. Im going to bust my ass to try and get everlast to help us with this. I talked to My guy at everlast when i came back from FOREINGER show and told him LOOK this speedbag thing is getting bigger and bigger day after day. I know rock stars that hit the bag, Superstars that hit the bag, Playmates that hit the bag and many others that tear it up. Theres gotta be some way we can put a RING in there bell to make them OPEN there eyes to see how big and succesful this could be.

Yall know my home town is SMALL!!! Lake City florida a speck on the map bout 1 hr from the jacksonville airport. I wouldnt charge nothing to use my facility. Even if we did a small event first to get the baggers there would be fine with me BUT i do believe in a BIGGEr CITY we would get much more exposure plus i dont know many stars that would come to lake shitty i mean city.

I do believe we all need to start making phone calls, sending e mails and reaching out to anyone and everyone we can to help put this AWESOME event together.

[SpeedBagSkunk]

was to get us to start focusing on ONE step at a time but next time ill make sure i do not confuse anyone "BIFF" haha Just kiddin, :)

[Tim]

was to get us to start focusing on ONE step at a time but next time ill make sure i do not confuse anyone "BIFF" haha Just kiddin, :)

I'll relocate some of these posts into new posts, so we can keep this location specific.

[Biff]

I agree with much of what has been posted concerning location. If the major emphasis of this Bag-In is to get maximum exposure and star power then definitely either Vegas or LA should be the host city.

C'mon baggers, regardless of sex, age, or skill level, let's hear your thoughts.

[Tim]

Yall know my home town is SMALL!!! Lake City florida a speck on the map bout 1 hr from the jacksonville airport. I wouldnt charge nothing to use my facility. Even if we did a small event first to get the baggers there would be fine with me BUT i do believe in a BIGGEr CITY we would get much more exposure plus i dont know many stars that would come to lake shitty i mean city.


I think Ruffo's gym is our official LOW COST BACKUP location. If all else falls through, if conference center, air fare, union fees, etc are too expensive to justify, we can absolutely do this at Ruffo's.

[Biff]

I think Ruffo's gym is our official LOW COST BACKUP location. If all else falls through, if conference center, air fare, union fees, etc are too expensive to justify, we can absolutely do this at Ruffo's.

Agreed. If we can't pull this off for whatever reasons, count me in for Zach's place. It would be great publicity for his gym as well.

[Speedbag]

I agree with much of what has been posted concerning location. If the major emphasis of this Bag-In is to get maximum exposure and star power then definitely either Vegas or LA should be the host city.

C'mon baggers, regardless of sex, age, or skill level, let's hear your thoughts.

Actually My own motive is a little different. Bag promotion and star power are important in the spectrum of things, but getting US (common folks that love the speed bag) together to meet each other and share time together is a more realistic focus in my eyes. There may or may not be "star" power attending, and there may or may not be "sponsors" by equipment or other companies, but there will always be "US", the people that hit the bag and come here nightly to talk about.

Martial Arts Planet (MAP) forum has major forum meet & greets annually and regionally. The main purpose is for people on the forum, MAP fans, to meet each other. If star power shows up, fine - but not necessary. All good things (stars, sponsorships etc) follow that, no preempt it. RossTraining is problem following the same path. I doubt any equipment company will throw in big major bucks just so 15-50 baggers are getting together. Realistically the major expenses will fall to US to figure and provide for the first gather or so.

I can safely say the movie "Million Dollar Baby" attracted huge throngs to boxing and the speed bag. My sales of Books & video's were greater during the promotion, run and oscar nods from that movie than any other two years combined. That was several years ago, the hype is gone and Hillary Swank has moved on to other roles. I doubt she still trains with a speed bag on a regular basis. I have pictures of several stars hitting the bag, such as Jeff Goldblum and Willie Nelson, who has one on his tour bus. All great and I'd love to meet them, but I'd rather know that Biff, Roc Stone, BillyMack, Skunk, Tim, speedbag4life, and all others I communicate with are going to be there. Stallone would be nice, but realistically not much chance with the exception of Everlast, a major sponsor of the Contender series, decided to buy into it. then again the draw power of 50 baggers may not generate a lot of buzz in Stallones world. Again, I'm not trying to be negative, but I think we need to look focus on US meeting US, and hope the rest of the world listens. when Foreigner starts featuring SSP on speed bag everynight, and the Rock world takes notice, then some star power might follow. that we know is going to happen.

[spinsmashpop]

All points taken. But speed baggaing isn't nearly as popular as martial arts. It can't hurt to try. Star power breeds interest which breeds sponsorship and raffles and prizes and giveaways. All or any of these things will ultimately help with the promotion and recognition the bag deserves, as well as the notable costs someof us will be hit with trying to make this cool event happen! Plus, I wouldn't underestimate how some stars may want to get involved with an interest that is cleary coming from an "underdog" place. That is what rocky is mostly about. I'd be surprised if there wasn't one star that took serious interest in participating!

[The Baggist]

I think either Bag Vegas or Bag Angeles would be Awesome and about a 7 and 5 hour drive for me respectively (I hate flying), and if I am able to drive I could probably bring a platform or two if needed. On the other hand it would also be great to check out SKUNK's gym and the East Coast.

[Biff]

After taking a step back, and a deep breath or two, here is my take on on all this......

I don't care where it is, how big (or small) it is, star-studded or not. I want to see this happen. And I will do all I can to help out.

I drove 3 hrs in May to meet Brian (to see Foreigner). But truth be told, I was more excited about meeting Brian the bagger, than Brian the drummer. No offense BT. When I was in FL, visiting my BIL, I went over to see Tim and BS and bag with him for a few hours. If I had the time during that stay I would have driven up to Lake City to see Skunk and over to Sarasota to see Ernie O.

I would love to meet everyone on this forum. I don't know what it is, but people who bag seem to have an addiction to it. And, that enthusiasm can be seen and felt. That's why I'm so psyched about this happening.

If this event generates more interest in bagging, fantastic. If some 'stars' can lend their names to make if happen, great. But no matter what the final outcome may be, let's get it on for next year.

[Jordan]

I like a lot of Tichy's ideas... I have just a few thoughts of my own, I think skunk is right that we need to make sure its affordable to everyone. Also I think that havin some stars would be crazy too, stallone would be awesome. Dallas would be cool, but on the con side, I think unless Alan has a giant bus he's gonna tow everyone around in, we're gonna need transportation, i.e. rental cars or taxi's. This of course adds more expenses...the only place I can really think of that wouldn't would be vegas; since everything is so centralized, it would at the very least be a minimal cost. Now I'm not saying vegas would be the best place, I'm just pointing out that one factor, cuz I hadn't seen it touched on yet. :)

[REALGYMM]

If you gentlemen wanted access to a gym in the NY/NJ area your welcome to use mine REAL GYMM in Keyport , NJ 07735 at no cost.....I'm new to the forum and I think all you guys are incredible and definately on to something with this event....you can take a look at the gym and see if it could meet your needs, it's old school but cool:) www.realgymm.com and REAL GYMM on Facebook.

[Jordan]

looks like you got a real nice set up there bud...congratz

[REALGYMM]

Thanks!

[metaldad]

I second that!! Nice space and thanks for the offer!! Welcome to the forum!

[REALGYMM]

Thanks! Looking forward to learning from you guys.....I hadn't hit the bag in over 20 yrs until I stumbled across a video of Alan and caught the bug again:)
Tons of talented baggers on the Forum ....Good stuff!!!

[speedbag4life]

Actually My own motive is a little different. Bag promotion and star power are important in the spectrum of things, but getting US (common folks that love the speed bag) together to meet each other and share time together is a more realistic focus in my eyes. There may or may not be "star" power attending, and there may or may not be "sponsors" by equipment or other companies, but there will always be "US", the people that hit the bag and come here nightly to talk about.


Hi Speedbag, Hi Everyone,

Though I don't fall into the category of "come here nightly to talk about it," -- in fact, it's at least a year since I've been on the forum -- my motivation in attending any Bag event would be the same as Speedbag's. The glitz of starpower and sponsorship might be essential to pulling together a big event, but the best part of it would be meeting others who love the bag. Maybe it's not such a bad idea to start small, just meet somewhere easy to see if there's enough interest and synergy to build it bigger for next time. Without such a proof of concept, it might be hard to get sponsorship anyway.

Glad I decided to check out the forum tonight. I hope you're all doing well these days. Aloha.

[Tim]

If you gentlemen wanted access to a gym in the NY/NJ area your welcome to use mine REAL GYMM in Keyport , NJ 07735 at no cost.....I'm new to the forum and I think all you guys are incredible and definately on to something with this event....you can take a look at the gym and see if it could meet your needs, it's old school but cool:) www.realgymm.com (http://www.realgymm.com) and REAL GYMM on Facebook.

Hi! Sorry it took me so long to respond to this.... looks like you've got a GREAT gym! How many bag platforms do you have currently? Looks like 2 or maybe 3 ? Do you have normal weekend hours? We'd be looking to take over the place for the majority of a FRIDAY , SATURDAY and SUNDAY.

At the moment we're targeting typical travel destinations, trying to keep things affordable and palatable to those with families. If that plan falls through ($$$$$) our fall back plan is to find a friendly gym :) :)

I will definitely keep you posted.

PS we're targeting late July / early Aug 2010.

[SpeedBagScissorhands]

this gym works good for me! im in jersey . with all the jersey shore mtv hype it might be a cool place for people to visit:o