If the "natural" audience are the sports fans in the MCI Arena, then
perhaps traffic signage is of concern, more so than advertising.  Does
the stadium open ahead of time to let people into the museum before any
games begin?  Does it open the museum when there are no games played?  I
suppose it depends on how vital this "education" portion of the MCI Arena
is to the management, and to the powers that be that allowed the place to
be built; is the museum a way for MCI to "give back to the people" while
profiting from sports endeavors?

I think it's a great idea to have a museum in this stadium; and if there
is truly no concern for advertising dollars to keep the place open, then
MCI will probably just continue to underwrite the museum as part of their
mandate, with or without people visiting.  However, a museum is a place
for people, and MCI should probably work on that a little harder.

O
Olivia S. Anastasiadis, Curator
Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace
18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard
Yorba Linda, CA  92886
(714) 993-5075; fax (714) 528-0544; e-mail:  [log in to unmask]

On Sun, 28 Dec 1997 14:55:16 -0500 Andy Finch <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
>To amplify Marie Maxwell's message to the effect that her friend's new
>(and "doomed") museum is in the MCI Arena:
>
>For those who don't know (and have no reason to know), the MCI Arena
>is
>the new, lavish, state-of-the-art downtown Washington sports venue.
>With
>a capacity of something like 20,000+ and events booked for over 200
>nights
>in the first year alone, the Arena provides a steady flow of people
>who
>are a *potential* audience for Marie's friend's National Sports
>Gallery.
>Moreover, as most of them are going to sports events, they are the
>*natural* audience as well.
>
>However, having just attended an event at MCI, I can attest to the
>fact
>that it is perfectly possible to spend several hours in the buiding
>while
>remaining unaware of the museum's existence.
>
>Andy Finch
>[log in to unmask]
>