CrossFit Games Location Change: Good or Bad?

From Announcing the CrossFit Games (also check out the vid) on CrossFit.com:

We are very proud to announce that the 2010 CrossFit Games will be held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA from July 16-18. This is a great step forward for the Sport of Fitness.

The primary competition areas will be the 8,000 seat Tennis Stadium and 8,000 seat Track and Field Stadium (see attached photos). This is where the Summer X-Games were held for several years, so we have lots of freedom to alter the playing fields to fit our needs. Rogue Fitness is fabricating at least two major steel structures that we’ll use for standard, and maybe not so standard, CrossFit drills. The Unknown and Unknowable will definitely be a part of the 2010 Games!

… We also will be offering 13 VIP Luxury Suites for rent, each with 15 seats and room for up to 20 people with private catering. Lot 17 will be a dedicated Tent City with a Beer Garden, food services, and live video feeds from the stadiums.

Spectator tickets will be General Admission (no assigned seats), and handled by Ticketmaster. Registration for Athletes, Judges, Volunteers and Sponsors will be handled by our registration system. VIP Luxury Suites are handled by a separate department at the HDC…

Let me preface what I’m about to say with this disclaimer that I’ve never been to Aromas, never been to the CrossFit Games, and won’t be going this year. So that’s out there. BUT, I’m still going to wax poetic on the pros and cons of this GIANT move.

Yes, the CrossFit Games COULD be as big as the X Games some day. Yes, 8,000-16,000 people MIGHT want to watch CrossFit. But I don’t think CrossFit The Sport is THERE yet. I think it’s probably going there if it continues on its current trajectory. So is it better to follow an if-you-build-it-they-will-come model, and risk having half-empty stadiums, or exercise a little caution and not move from a ranch in tiny Aromas, CA to a sports complex in the second largest city (population) in the United States?

Now, I’m a go big or go home type and a risk-taker, so you’d think I’d be psyched that the Games are indeed Going Big. Literally. But having locker rooms under the fields, designated tailgating spots, and VIP luxury suites seems sort of un-CrossFit. At least at this point in the game. But then again, things all have to change, right?

I think I’ve talked myself into thinking this is a good business decision.

And it would be FREAKIN’ SWEET to compete there …

But I still think the spectators lose out on the intimacy of the event and the intensity of the athletes.

Thoughts?