Welcome to the Chicago Perl Mongers' bid for YAPC::NA 2006. We've decided to try to host next year's Yet Another Perl Conference and hope that you agree that Chicago is the spot for YAPC.
Chicago.pm is the Chicago-area chapter of the Perl Mongers group. We are an active group with almost monthly meetings. We host a mailing list and website, of which book reviews are often published. We adopted a Phalanx module and have worked to improve its testing coverage. The group consists of many Perl users, as well as, some notable figures in the Perl world, including Andy Lester, the public relations representative for the Perl Foundation and brian d foy, the publisher of The Perl Review.
Why not? Chicago is an exciting metropolitan area. It is a central hub for all forms of transportation, including automobile, air, rail, and water. Chicago is the second largest city in the United States, with over six million people from diverse cultures. Chicago is the home of many professional sports clubs including the Cubs, White Sox, Fire, Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks. Chicago's architecture is second to none. The city has a picturesque skyline that includes the Sears Tower, Prudential Tower, and John Handcock Building. It is also the home of Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan, two of the most famous architects of modern times.
Did we mention food yet? Where else can you get an authentic Chicago-style pizza or have one of the best hot dogs ever made? Plus, Chicago has a huge variety of ethnic dishes to choose from. You will find them throughout Chicago and in the many culture based neighborhoods.
Chicago is no stranger to technology either. Many companies in the downtown area use Perl to keep financial institutions going.
We are proposing to host the conference on Monday through Wednesday, June 26-28, 2006. These dates were chosen due to their proximity to last year's dates.
The proposed venue is the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology (http://www.iit.edu/). They have a large conference center (http://www.ccc.iit.edu/) which we are planning to utilize.
The Illinois Institute of Technology has a conference center called the Hermann Union Building (http://maps.google.com/maps) This conference center is located in the heart of the IIT campus, only a block away from the campus cafeteria, dormitories, and the Chicago 'L'.
IIT itself is located just south of the heart of Chicago, right beside US Cellular Field. It is easily accessible by bus, 'L', and automobile.
The Hermann Union Building is a multi-level conference facility. The ground level of the facility contains an auditorium and multiple conference rooms of various sizes. The facility is leased by the room or as a whole. Depending on the number of registrants to the conference, we can adjust which rooms that we will use to best fit the conference size.
A diagram of the layout is available at http://perlcast.com/images/hub.png.
|---------------------------------------------------------| | Room | Theater Capacity | Conference Capacity | |---------------------------------------------------------| | Auditorium | 850 | N/A | |---------------------------------------------------------| | Main Lobby | 300 | 140 | |---------------------------------------------------------| | Gallery Lounge | 300 | 140 | |---------------------------------------------------------| | Main Ballroom | 300 | 140 | |---------------------------------------------------------| | Expo | 300 | 140 | |---------------------------------------------------------| | Alumni Lounge | 50 | 30 | |---------------------------------------------------------| | Hermann Lounge | 40 | 20 | |---------------------------------------------------------| | Field Room | 36 | 16 | |---------------------------------------------------------| | Crown Room | 36 | 16 | |---------------------------------------------------------|
The Hermann Union Building is fully equipped with audio-visual resources. The auditorium comes standard with stage lighting and sound. All other rooms can be set up with portable audio equipment for a fee. IIT has AV engineers who bring in and set up the equipment. Additionally, IIT has videographers that will record conference sessions.
Only wired Internet access is available within the Hermann Union Building; however, it is allowable for YAPC to bring in wireless routers and connect them to the wired connection. Additionally, there are PC's available in the Gallery Lounge and the Computer Lab.
There are many wireless hot-spots around campus, including the dormitories. Conference attendees staying in the dorms will gain access to these hot-spots.
Our costs are based on a YAPC costing $85 per person, which is no increase from years past.
What do we expect a person who attends the conference to spend overall. There are costs such as conference fees, lodging, and food. Below is our estimate of how someone could experience YAPC::NA 2006 in Chicago on the cheap. This assumes that you'll be sharing a room and eating in the cafeteria.
|---------------------------------------------------|------| | Expense | Cost | |---------------------------------------------------|------| | Conference | $85 | |---------------------------------------------------|------| | Day 1 Food: 3 meals in cafeteria | $25 | |---------------------------------------------------|------| | Day 2 Food: 2 meals in cafeteria, dinner provided | $15 | |---------------------------------------------------|------| | Day 3 Food: 2 meals in cafeteria | $15 | |---------------------------------------------------|------| | Sunday night in dorm | $35 | |---------------------------------------------------|------| | Monday night in dorm | $35 | |---------------------------------------------------|------| | Tuesday night in dorm | $35 | |---------------------------------------------------|------| | Total (without travel) | $245 | |---------------------------------------------------|------|
|------------------------------|------| | Expense Description | Cost | |------------------------------|------| | Snacks and drinks for 3 days | $30 | |------------------------------|------| | Dinner one night | $20 | |------------------------------|------| | T-Shirt | $5 | |------------------------------|------| | Total | $55 | |------------------------------|------|
With $55 being spent on each attendee, there will be $30 per attendee remaining to pay for the conference facilities.
|-----------|------------------| | Attendees | Amount Available | |-----------|------------------| | 200 | $6000 | |-----------|------------------| | 250 | $7500 | |-----------|------------------| | 300 | $9000 | |-----------|------------------| | 350 | $10500 | |-----------|------------------| | 400 | $12000 | |-----------|------------------| | 450 | $13500 | |-----------|------------------| | 500 | $15000 | |-----------|------------------|
For less than 300 people, all that would be needed as far as facilities would be the Main Ballroom and the Alumni and Herman Lounge. These run $900/day for a total of $2700. Additional costs for A/V Tech, Internet, Setup, Post Event Cleanup, Building Manager, Custodial, and Sound run $2080 putting the total cost at $4780 for less than three hundred people.
For more than 300 people, the Expo would need to be rented for an extra $750 per day for a total of $2250. Adding this to the previous total brings us to $7030. In order to keep from having to rent the auditorium, the key addresses can be simulcast into the other rooms.
It is also possible to rent the auditorium for the first half of Monday and the last half of Wednesday, allowing the major sessions to be held together but the sessions to be held independently.
There are many opportunities for cost adjustments, one of which is brining the per-person costs down on food. However, initial estimates show that even at $85 it is possible to have a profitable YAPC.
This also assumes exactly zero sponsorship.
Chicago hosts hundreds, if not thousands of hotels. With IIT's proximity to downtown, YAPC attendees could easily stay at a fine hotel and still be only minutes away from the conference.
Chicago is home to two major international airports, O'Hare and Midway. Almost every major airline runs some service to at least one of these airports. Each airport is connected to major expressways and the Chicago 'L', making getting from the airport to the conference and back easy.
If flying is not your style, but you still don't want to drive, both Amtrak and Greyhound serve Chicago. Amtrak will bring riders to Union Station, right in downtown Chicago. Greyhound will drop riders off a little South of Union Station, right next to the Chicago 'L'.
Amtrak serves Chicago at Union Station. Union station is accessible to public transportation that connects to IIT. Additionally, limousine and taxi are available at Union Station.
There are both Greyhound and Continental Trailways terminals. The terminals are accessible to public transportation that connects to IIT. Additionally, taxi service is available at the terminals.
To get to IIT by automobile, take the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) to 31st Street exit, continue south to 33rd Street, turn left (east). Metered parking is located along Federal Street north and south of 33rd Street, and in the Visitor's Parking Lot (Lot A4) at 32nd Street and State Street. IIT has on-campus parking available for the conference at no additional charge. IIT requests an estimate of the number of cars that will be parked.
The Illinois Institute of Technology is conveniently located between two CTA 'L' stations. The 35th-Bronzeville-IIT station is the Institute's connection to the CTA Green Line. This line is an above-ground line that connects the West and Southern Chicago suburbs while passing through the Chicago downtown area. The Sox-35th station is the Institute's connection to the CTA Red Line. This line is both and over and under ground line. This line connects the Northern and Southern Chicago suburbs and stays very close to Lake Michigan. Both Wrigley Field and US Cellular Field have stops on the CTA Red Line.
The CTA #29-State, #35-35th, #24-Wentworth, and #4-Cottage Grove bus lines all have stops on the main IIT campus. Connections between these and other buses can get you just about anywhere in town.
Beyond the CTA, the Metra rail system can cheaply transport people to more remote suburbs. Most Metra trains connect to the PACE bus system, which will accept transfers and passes purchased through CTA.
Regular CTA fares are $1.75 US for a single trip or $2 US for a trip with transfers. Transfers between 'L' lines can be done at no extra charge at any of the many free transfer stations. Short-term unlimited ride passes are available for visitors. The cost of these passes is:
Metra is a separate system from CTA and is not covered under the unlimited passes. Fares for Metra are typically less than $5 US one-way.
Chicago is home to countless restaurants including Pizzera Uno, the original restaurant that served as inspiration for the chain. Beyond that, you can find almost any type of food imaginable.