R. Doig

ORGANIZING the 1984 event was a real scramble. By April, suitable arrangements could not be made with the new owner of the West Baden building, and the decision was made to go to an alternate site. Because of rumors all winter long that West Baden was on, then off, then on again, Indoor modelers had been checking the availability of other sites. By April a half dozen alternates were available. The State Fair Coliseum in Detroit, MI was chosen, a proven contest site with stable conditions, within reasonable travel distance to many past participants. This was the choice in spite of the high rental fee of $400.00 per day plus lights (half the normal rate). The State Fair Coliseum is an arena-style building with a girdered roof and grandstands surrounding a large floor area. The building fits into AMA Ceiling Cat. III (15-30 meters or 49 ft., 2 1/2 in. to 90 ft., 5 in.), but at only 66 ft. height, the building does not provide the conditions suitable for setting the vast number of records that the West Baden atrium did. With this in mind, the schedule was for the Third U.S. Indoor Championships to be on Monday, June 18, through Wednesday, June 20, and the Fifth World Peanut Grand Prix on Thursday, June 21 (no Record Trials this year).