(Sorry, that should be FROM Milwaukee. I can't seem to change it now. Hope a mod can change it.)
<Done - Roderick>
I've been reading through all the threads about people complaining about the lack of hotels and the general talk of Gen Con should be moving to a different city. That got me trying to remember what the move from Milwaukee to Indianapolis was like. So I looked through my old program books and found this. (Google Photo album link to photos of 2002 program book pages. And Photos was being fussy about the order so 2 pages of the 4-page spread are switched in order.
https://goo.gl/photos/iYVR52Vx44tEpxFm6
First, there is a letter from Peter Adkison explaining he just bought Gen Con earlier in the year and he was moving it to Indianapolis. A big reason? "We love Milwaukee and many of us have memories dating back many years here, but there seems to be no way of fixing the space problems while staying in Milwaukee. So, yes, starting next year, Gen Cons new home will be in Indianapolis, Indiana."
Then there is a 2-page spread hyping up Indy. "In Milwaukee, hotel rooms are coveted because they are hard to come by. Indianapolis will be a welcome relief with a wide variety of accommodations to choose from. In fact, that's one of the leading reasons why we are moving. There are SIX hotels that connect directly to the convention center via skyways, and may others are in walking distance. There are over 5,000 rooms available in the downtown area alone!"
Next, there is a 1 page letter from an old timer at the time talking about it will be sad to move from Milwaukee, but Indy is the future and everyone should look forward to it.
And finally, there is a 4-page article from Randy Porter telling the history of Gen Con and detailing all the moves it had made in the past.
So much of it is exactly the same kind of talk people are having now. The interesting thing to me is how fast it happened.