YAPC::NA::2009 Pittsburgh.pm Bid
Thu, 05-Jun-2008 by
Jeremy Fluhmann
edit post
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Here is Pittsburgh.pm's bid for hosting YAPC::NA 2009
<h1 style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">YAPC 2009 Proposal</h1>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Pittsburgh Perl Mongers</h2>
<p>In 1999, the first ever Yet Another Perl Conference was held in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania and hosted by Perl Monger Kevin Lenzo. In the past ten
years, YAPC has flourished into a world-wide craze. But little did
everybody realize that back when Kevin started it all, he implanted a very
small homing beacon in the conference.</p>
<p>Now, on the 10th anniversary of YAPC, we feel it's time to activate that
beacon and bring YAPC back to Pittsburgh. We hope to do justice to what
started out as a small Perl conference, but has become something that
belongs to the entire Perl community.</p>
<p>We have spent the last 3 years preparing ourselves for the monumentuous
occasion by introducing another first: The very first Perl Workshop to be
hosted in the United States (yet another tradition that is starting to grow
across the country). We followed up on our first success with the
Pittsburgh Perl Workshop 2007, and are already in the process of preparing
for PPW 2008. We feel that the cumulutive experiences we have gained over
these three years gives us a leg up on the task.</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Proposed Dates</h2>
<p>The proposed dates for YAPC 2009 are Monday, June 22 through Wednesday,
June 24, 2009.</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Estimated Costs</h2>
<p>University Center Room Reservation Pricing</p>
<pre>
Room Daily Cost Extended Cost
McConomy Auditorium $356.50 $1069.50
Connan $212.75 $638.25
McKenna $74.75 $224.25
Peter $74.75 $224.25
Wright $74.75 $224.25
Rangos 1 $212.75 $638.25
Rangos 2 $212.75 $638.25
Rangos 3 $212.75 $638.25
Dowd $34.50 $103.50
Pake $34.50 $103.50
Class of 1987 $34.50 $103.50</pre>
<p>The total cost for rental (assuming we choose to rent all of the above
rooms) for three days would be $4,605.75</p>
<p>Additionally, there is a daily cost of approximately $250 per room anywhere
that we would like to have A/V service provided. If we assume that we will
not need more than four such rooms per day, we can expect to pay an
additional $3,000 for a/v services.</p>
<p>Each snack provided is estimated to cost approximately $1 per person. With
an estimated attendance of 600, and a snack service provided each morning
and afternoon, we anticpate snack costs to be about $3,600.</p>
<p>Beyond these known costs, we believe it is reasonable to plan an additional
$5,000 for various professional services required during the event.</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Readily Accessible Location (Planes, Trains, & Automobiles)</h2>
<p>Pittsburgh is within 500 miles of more than half the U.S. population and
less than a 90-minute flight from 50% of North America's population. It's
under 6 hours by car or train to 9 states, D.C. and Canada. (source:
visitpittsburgh.com)</p>
<p>Pittsburgh International Airport is only 25 minutes from Downtown
Pittsburgh and supports over 300 non-stop flights per day to 118
destinations. Port authority busing provides convenient transportation
from the airport to downtown Pittsburgh, departing the airport every 20
minutes.</p>
<p>Amtrak provides daily rail service to New York, Philadelphia, Washington,
and Chicago.</p>
<p>Greyhound also provides a bus terminal in Pittsburgh with numerous routes.</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Public Transportation</h2>
<p>Busing and Taxi services are available throughout Pittsburgh. Visitor's can
even use Google Transit to plan their route around the city.</p>
<p>Once you are at CMU, if you are staying on campus, there are several fine
dining locations withing walking distance, so the need for travel is very
limited. Additionally, most local hotels provide free shuttle service
for their guests.</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Facilities</h2>
<p>The meeting facilities at the Carnegie Mellon University, University Center
are state of the art. They are clean, and professional. We've used them for
the past two Pittsburgh Perl Workshops, and feel confident that
participants will be satisfied with the quality of the venue. </p>
<p>The largest room available to us will be McConomy Auditorium, which seats
450 people. If there is a need for overflow, we will be able to
simulcast any presentations into additional rooms.</p>
<p>We have also started to research several potential venues for the YAPC
dinner. We have started to research all of these venues, and believe
that all of them are available for between $30 and $35 per person. We
feel that with the right sponsorship, this is obtainable.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Gateway Clipper Fleet</strong>
<p>An evening on the Gateway Party Liner touring the rivers of Pittsburgh with
fine dining.</p>
</li>
<li><strong>Heinz Field</strong>
<p>Home of the 2006 world Superbowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Â This
event would include a banquet-style dinner in the "West Club", with a
scenic outlook over Pittsburgh's Ohio River. </p>
</li>
<li><strong>Kennywood Park</strong>
<p>Kennywood Park is one of the oldest amusement parks in the country, hosting
some of the fastest roller coasters in the world. In addition, they
have plenty of rides and amusements for the more timid. Cost would
cover an all-day ride pass as well as a catered dinner.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Internet Access from Conference Location</h2>
<p>The Carnegie Mellon wireless network is one of the largest wireless
networks available on a college campus today. The network blankets the
campus with highly reliable service. No other campus of this size offers
such complete coverage. We have had personal experience using the wireless
at CMU for the past two years, and have never had any problems.</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Internet Access from Accommodations</h2>
<p>Dorm rooms located on the university campus benefit from the same wireless
network that is being used at the conference. There is no difference in
accessing the network from the conference or from a dorm room.</p>
<p>All nearby hotels offer either wired ethernet, wireless access, or both.
In past years, many of our PPW participants have made use of the network
available at the Quality Inn, our recommended hotel.</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">New Location</h2>
<p>Although YAPC originated in Pittsburgh, ten years ago, we believe that most
the YAPC participants probably have not been attending YAPC's that long.
Pittsburgh is an excellent choice for the 10th anniversary of YAPC.</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Affordable Dorms and Hotels</h2>
<p>Carnegie Mellon University dorm room pricing (per night)</p>
<p>Each room is equiped with air conditioning and linen service is provided.
There is no charge for wireless internet access in dorm rooms.</p>
<pre>
Single Room $42.00
Double Room / Double Occupancy $28.50 (per person)
Double Room / Single Occupancy $57.00</pre>
<p>We currently have 87 dorm rooms available to us with a maximum occupancy of
147. There may be an opportunity to secure more dorm rooms if that will
not be enough.</p>
<p>The Quality Inn University Center is located close to CMU, and provides
daily free shuttle service to the university. Rooms are available for
about $80 per night for a double room, meaning that one person could
theoretically stay for about $40 per night. The Quality Inn has been
willing in the past to split bill a double room for two people staying in
the room.</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Quality of Host Committee</h2>
<p>The host committee has an established track record of putting together
quality Perl events. In the past two years, over 200 participants have
enjoyed the quality Perl Workshops that we have hosted. We are excited and
up to the challenge of running an event with the magnitude and high
standards of YAPC.</p>
<p>About the Committee leadership:</p>
<p>Robert Blackwell, Tom Moertel, Casey West, and Dan Wright have all been
members of the PPW organizing Cabal since it's inception in 2006. Â
Together, they represent over 4 decades of programming experience as well
as a great deal of experience organizing events of all sizes.</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Tourist Activities</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Abundant art galleries</strong>
<li><strong>Pittsburgh Pirates</strong>
<li><strong>Riverboat cruises</strong>
<li><strong>Scenic Mt. Washington dining</strong>
<li><strong>Kennywood Amusement Park</strong>
<li><strong>Carnegie Science Center</strong>
<li><strong>Pittsburgh Zoo</strong>
<li><strong>West Penn Brewery</strong>
</ul>
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