Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex vs. Armory

D1 meets are already goin to Ocean Breeze. ARMORY IS TOO EXPENSIVE. Hopefully competition will drive the price down.

yeah a lot of the nj meets are being held at ocean breeze. plus i heard it's just a nicer facility

i think the prestige of the armory is still going to triumph

What are the spectator capacities of each? Just curious.

Doesn't even matter, Ocean Breeze is more spectator friendly hands down.

specs plz wrote:

What are the spectator capacities of each? Just curious.

Room for both in Metro area, good to see Track being supported to that extent. Neither comes for free.

For people using mass transit, the Armory's easy to get to. Staten Island isn't.

Heard somebody explain it this way.

Both have a Mondo 200m banked track so that is a bit of a wash.

Jump areas - another wash

Throws - OB wins here with 2 cages/throw areas

Parking - OB wins here

Food - Armory an easy winner - not only more options in house but many places to grab a bite close by

Getting to - If your driving both can have traffic issues. If your looking to use public trans another Armory win.

Warm-up area- Assuming your going to warm up outside OB gets the win here.

Meet results - Armory timing crew is fast and very few mistakes if any. OB has had some glitches early but sure they will only get better as the season goes on. The Armory does have its own website which provides results and meet entry info. OB results are hard to find post meet since there is no facility website like the Armory has.

The Armory has lots of bells and whistles. Big video boards that show live race footage & fast race results. Meet announcers that provide info and race calls. Music playing over the PA (for many this might be a negative).

OB is more of a basic meet with no real flash that they Armory calls "The Armory Experience".

The Millrose Games is owned by The Armory so that is not moving out. The major Invites (except NBIN) held at the Armory are owned by the Armory so they also they are not moving. Will the people at OB look to put on pro type meets that will rival events like Millrose is yet to be seen. This could be a good thing as well going back to the old days when NY had 2 or 3 major indoor pro meets each season. It could only help the sport. Imagine a season with a series of the Boston meet, Millrose and a 3rd major at OB building to indoor nationals.

Warming up for sprinters is easier at the armory, not much space at OB. Bishop Loughlin and some college meets already are at OB.

The OB track has shorter straightaway and gentler curves.

The management will get their act together making OB a better experience. The armory management which had a monopoly all these years will be forced to consider kids and parents and chat get less which is great.

The city public schools will tend to go to armory meets because it's more accessible by subway. Private schools, Long Island, and other areas have a choice, if I coached on the island I'd go to OB.

NYers now have another training venue.

OB Mondo track is hydraulic btw.

Advantage OB for the track specifically.

Also air quality at OB is better and much cheaper to enter/compete in meets.

Is it true D1 and other top XC meets are moving to Fresh Kills from VCP next fall?

Is there a reason so many college meets moved out of the armory to OB? Looking at the schedule it looks like every major college meet has run off to Staten Island

Bumble in the nite wrote:

Is there a reason so many college meets moved out of the armory to OB? Looking at the schedule it looks like every major college meet has run off to Staten Island

Economics- OB costs less to rent

do no tknow about associated costs like motel/hotel rental

Coacher wrote:

Is it true D1 and other top XC meets are moving to Fresh Kills from VCP next fall?

I've actually raced Fresh Kills (Staten Island Athletic Club has had an XC fundraiser race the past three years), course ended up being around six miles and though there was some gravel and hills, it wasn't really an XC course. It'd be very interesting if they did construct some appropriate trails etc but I've not heard of this happening. Hate to lose the Back Hills at Van Cortlandt but if Parks gave OK, Fresh Kills definitely has potential.

A few missed facts about OB - two PV runways, twice the amount of warm-up space, and three times more bathrooms. The fresh air and sunlight make the world of difference - along with climate control. The bells and whistles will come soon and they are launching a website in the coming week or two. The last huge difference is there is no fee for parking or for spectators.

"Food - Armory an easy winner - not only more options in house but many places to grab a bite close by"

I'd hold off on giving the food trophy to the Armory.

Their new (apparently) food service vendor is an absolute disgrace. Three incidents at three different meets already this season...

1) Ordered a hot dog and it took almost ten minutes for the 4 people behind the counter to get it from the kitchen to my hand.

2) Ordered a bagel and they didn't have anything but honey to put on it. No butter, cream cheese, jelly, etc.

3) Ordered hot dogs at the main food service kiosk on the track level and was told I had to pay for them there, then go upstairs to the spectator level to pick them up. I actually laughed at the guy, then went down to the street, got hot dogs from a cart on the corner and brought them back up to show the guy at the counter before we ate them because that was so incredibly ridiculous.

These seem like small things, but if you're running a professional sports arena and charging professional rates to use and/or enter it, you'd best be all-the-way professional about how you run it.

I'm a big fan of The Armory, but this is a HUGE fail.

Ehiskert wrote:

The armory charges $10 per parent to go see his or her kid run a high school track meet. And most of those kids are poor. It's really a$$huole behavior by the armory.

OB is a $112 million dollar NYC Park, located on Staten Island, paid for by taxpayers. The Armory is a not-for-profit operating in aging former homeless shelter/Armory, located in Manhattan, so fees would pay for operating costs.

The motto of the armory when it reopened in the early 90s was "dedicated to the youth of New York City" now parents of poor kids have to pay to enter and you can't bring food or drinks into it. It is unconscionable especially for those who are on welfare or live in shelters as some do. The armory management will do anything to make a buck. How much is the entry fee to the Milrose trial HS 4x400?

I'll go with Ocean Breeze management who have always been fan, coach, and athlete friendly

Have to pay for the full time DJ's and camera men. Oh by the way the top employees make 150k up to 250k. Total not for profit, yea, right. Keep charging parents to watch their kids run.

Hydraulic Track and cheaper entry fees per team.