Site Selection

[AcuteEnigma]

If you were looking for a site to hold a Scottish games, what would you look for?

What criteria are most important for a great Scottish games location?

Hotels within a few miles doesn't seem to matter. I have been to several games where the hotels were 10 miles away and those were good games.

The ability to sell food and alcohol (govt permits?) is probably a big one.
Cost to rent the site.
Plenty of open space for athletics and pipe bands.

?????
What am I missing?

[sailortats]

Plenty of parking space for workers and attendees.

[Truitt]

Parking space, alcohol permits, and a minimum of resistance to divots and dents in the turf. These have been the main issues for Highland Games planning here in Alaska. Oh, and enough level space to hold the events

[ASinclair]

To what's already been mentioned, I would add available camping. If it could be a meadow on the side of a big mountain, that'd be great, too.

[KD Burke]

You might look for telephone lines or good cellular coverage. Vendors, ticket sales, ATMs, anything that uses a credit/debit card will need some variety of telephone or data access.

Permanent restrooms are a big bonus. A proper bog will replace several portables.

Is your area fenced in? If you are selling tickets, you need to have some sort of access control.

[AcuteEnigma]

All good points I had not thought of. You guys are the best!

[RGRatSea]

My wife and I put on a games for our community and it was quite a learning experience. As a run up we planned a Rabbie Burns night complete with Scottish dishes (explaining "cock-a-leekie" was interesting), and live entertainment including readings of the works of Burns. That was for starters - to get folks thinking Scottish.

Planning for the games began about 16 months out by setting a timetable for what needed to be done and when. A rough schedule gains additions as things develop. I have a little experience in organizing, as a result my wife and I found ourselves doing the bulk of the work. Creating periodic news articles related to our direction kept the concept in the media and saved us from spending on advertising. We even got a write up in a London paper.

A check list of things to include, activities and amenities including food, drink vendors, the games themselves, awards, piper and dancers, sheep dogs (no trials for us, we had demonstrations as trials were not approved by the local folks with working dogs), clan tents and accommodations for participants and attendees. The previous posters all had good suggestions and your planning list will vary depending on location. We had combined county fairgrounds and a little league field with bleachers, lots of parking in an adjoining field and a building with beer and food, restrooms and a place to get out of the sun. Additional porta-potties we set out for the clan tents, the athletes and the vendors and guests.

Our grounds were fenced and we had a small entry fee. By careful management we started our games with $10,000.00 in the bank and at the end, with all the bills paid we still had half that left for the Games Association. I still have the recipes for the dishes. A local chef cooked everything as a test in advance of our events to understand the dishes. We even offered samples of Haggis.

If I can assist let me know, but I must say, we are leaving home soon and I will not have my materials available once we hit the road.

Best regards, don't let the list alarm you, you will make the right choices based on your circumstances and timing. A small, well run event is better than trying to do to much and being driven nuts.

Ryc

[sydnie7]

Personally, I prefer the smaller venues such as Vista over the larger such as Costa Mesa (both California sites that I know you have been to -- I've never been to a Games out of the state).

My main reasoning is that I like the athletics to be in the "heart" of the venue rather than stuck out in a remote area. The year we went to Queen Mary was the worst for that (among many other "worsts" of that venue!), with athletics in a small grassy area at the bow of the ship, completely removed from the rest of the event. Costa Mesa and Ventura also seem to isolate the athletics.

Starting with a smallish site such as Vista's does prevent you from growing too much in future. But I'd rather attend a small, well-run Games than an overwhelmingly large event.

We also enjoy the British car clubs that show up at most Games, depending on where you are there are a variety of clubs that could be interested in a display.

Check out your potential site's current concessions (food/drink) as they may have additional restrictions on event-specific food/drink vendors (i.e. the current concessions may have exclusive rights to sell at the site).

Best of luck with whatever you have in mind!

[Lorna]

Depending on the time of year, shade might come in handy. My family did the pipe band competition circuit for a few years. A lack of shade at one games was the biggest detriment that comes to my mind immediately. That was a long, brutal day. There was another games we all came home early because we were wind burned. Best of luck.

[piperdown]

source of electricity or lots of generators for the vendors.