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Apex 2015 has been evacuated due to struct damage - Some events may be cancelled

Ridley327

Member
To be honest I think apex organizers deserve some flack for going with such a shitty hotel. Everything about the hotel seems sketchy and second rate at best.

They were repeatedly assured that the venue was accommodating for their purposes. There's not a whole lot you can do when you're being straight-up lied to for likely months.
 
Damn, just got home and turned on the stream and was wondering why it's still offline. This seriously sucks, I hope they can still work things out and that the hotel serioulsy gets in trouble for this.
 

Geg

Member
Man, what a clusterfuck. I feel so bad for the people who were looking forward to this, but yeah it's for the best that this happened rather than the alternative of it going forward with the hotel in that condition.

I wonder if the fire alarm was just a lucky accident or if it was someone who knew about the conditions there
 

A Pretty Panda

fuckin' called it, man
To be honest I think apex organizers deserve some flack for going with such a shitty hotel. Everything about the hotel seems sketchy and second rate at best.

Yeah I'm not sure why they went with this hotel. If I'm not mistaken, it's different from the one the used for like the past 3 years.
 

trh

Nifty AND saffron-colored!
They were repeatedly assured that the venue was accommodating for their purposes. There's not a whole lot you can do when you're being straight-up lied to for likely months.
There were things they could do, and should have done. Scout the place out. Do some basic research. The place has abysmal ratings everywhere. For such an important thing as venue location going on their word alone is lazy and inexcusable.
 

methodman

Banned
i don't think the organizers should get any flak for this. If i'm planning an event and i get two quotes, one much cheaper than the other with pretty equal floorplans/ quality, etc., then i'd go with the cheaper quote 100/100 times. who is cynical enough to believe that a little snow would cause the entire building to collapse? come on
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
i don't think the organizers should get any flak for this. If i'm planning an event and i get two quotes, one much cheaper than the other with pretty equal floorplans/ quality, etc., then i'd go with the cheaper quote 100/100 times. who is cynical enough to believe that a little snow would cause the entire building to collapse? come on

It's looking like the snow might have had little or nothing to do with it.
 

Venfayth

Member
There were things they could do, and should have done. Scout the place out. Do some basic research. The place has abysmal ratings everywhere. For such an important thing as venue location going on their word alone is lazy and inexcusable.

This is true, but nobody could have predicted the scale of this mistake.
 
i don't think the organizers should get any flak for this. If i'm planning an event and i get two quotes, one much cheaper than the other with pretty equal floorplans/ quality, etc., then i'd go with the cheaper quote 100/100 times. who is cynical enough to believe that a little snow would cause the entire building to collapse? come on

The snow not being cleared from the roof, combined with the low maintaining efforts, is maybe the most common reason of roof damaging.
 
Yeah don't blame the victims here. I'm sure they know how to plan an event. There's not much you can do when you're lied to and told the venue is safe.
 

jediyoshi

Member
Sucks for the participants and anyone who traveled out there.
Guess we can all watch the Super Bowl guilt free now.
 

Sir TapTap

Member
i don't think the organizers should get any flak for this. If i'm planning an event and i get two quotes, one much cheaper than the other with pretty equal floorplans/ quality, etc., then i'd go with the cheaper quote 100/100 times. who is cynical enough to believe that a little snow would cause the entire building to collapse? come on

It was just the roof, a partial collapse. Snow damages roofs all the time, though I'm not sure the exact physics of it or who's at fault for the collapse. Important thing is the hotel lied about having the venue cleared as safe.

the what?

Oh boy. read up, Apex has had shit luck lately.
 
What a sad mess, just as I sat down for my first pool match after waiting 40 min after the fire alarm was pulled everybody was evacuated. And since I don't have a room at the hotel I was asked to just leave, so here I am at home just waiting to hear what will happen to this event. So sad :(
 

Jon

Member
i don't think the organizers should get any flak for this. If i'm planning an event and i get two quotes, one much cheaper than the other with pretty equal floorplans/ quality, etc., then i'd go with the cheaper quote 100/100 times. who is cynical enough to believe that a little snow would cause the entire building to collapse? come on

To piggyback on this point, this is not exactly a motel, or some bed and breakfast. Clarion is a national brand, and should be held responsible for putting their guests at risk. This has nothing to do with the event scheduled -- any business traveler or any guest would be under equal danger here if the structure was unsafe.
 
I had never heard of Apex before this year, now it seems I hear something every other day. Is this particular year just plagued with extraordinary problems?
 

JBourne

maybe tomorrow it rains
Man, what a shame. Was looking forward to leaving Spooky's stream up all weekend.

Feel really sorry for all the Smash players. I think I'd cry if this happened at Evo.

#APEXgate
 

Sir TapTap

Member
I had never heard of Apex before this year, now it seems I hear something every other day. Is this particular year just plagued with extraordinary problems?

Yes, this year is a complete clusterfuck. Also there's more attention on them because of the Nintendo thing, but this and Alex Strife would be news regardless.
 
Wow, that absolutely sucks. I hope the hotel catches hell for lying about the safety of the rooms - that shit is inexcusable.

Also I hope the Smash players can still play at some point. D,:
 
If anyone's confused, turn of events is basically:
Garage partially collapsed from storm. Event was okay, parking was going to suck
Hotel says venue is confirmed safe
For some reason, someone triggered an emergency door which sets off the fire alarm
Fire marshal inspects, finds event rooms unsuitable (meaning the hotel lied)
Apex postponed

Garage didn't collapse today, fire alarm guy isn't at fault, the hotel is.

Check out this review on that site:

Garage collapsed, told not to give "attitude."

Posted January 25, 2015

This was by far the WORST hotel experience I've ever had. I'm not exaggerating. My husband and I were traveling to New York, and we decided to stay just out of town in this hotel because it was near the train station and had free parking. We had stayed here once before about nine months prior, so we were happy to return. But when we opened the door to our room, we found used napkins on the bed! We asked to be moved, and they gave us a second room. This one was no better, with stains on the sheets, bed skirt, and floor, potato chips in the lamp, and some sort of brown liquid streaking the bathroom walls and closet door. Seeing as the room was prepaid for and was non refundable, we stupidly decided to just lay some towels down and make the best of it, rather than lose our money.

Our second day, the front desk calls to let us know we can't use the sink in our bathroom because they have to do some immediate plumbing. Fine, we were heading out anyway. We grab some things to put away in the car before heading to the train station, but when we go outside, we find police tape wrapped around all the garage stairwells and a police car parked outside. They inform us, not the hotel, that the garage has collapsed and no one is allowed inside! No one was seriously hurt, thank goodness. But seeing as there was no parking allowed in the parking lot and we were left with no alternative but to park on the top level, we went back to the front desk to ask what was being done and when we would be able to get our car out. No information was provided by the people at the front desk, and we were simply told to leave our number, car description, etc and they would call when they knew something.

So now, faced with possibly being stranded out of state for who knows how long, my husband and I continued on into the city and hoped we would hear something soon. While out, the hotel did eventually call and say they were letting people go in to get their cars. I asked if there was a time window in which we had to do this, because at this point we were in the city and would have to take the train back to Seacaucus to do so. They said they didn't know, and asked for my number again and said they would call. They didn't. I called again later in the day, asking if we would be able to move our car later or if we should come back now. This time they said that it should be fine, and that we would be able to get our car out as late as midnight. If anything changed, they said, they would call.

So after seeing the show we had traveled to New York to see, my husband and I came back to the hotel around 9pm. We stopped in front of the garage, and I was immediately worried by the fact that the garage was still taped off and there was now no one outside. So I called the front desk, and they now say that we won't be able to move our car until tomorrow. I asked when, and they said they had no idea. Seeing as we were supposed to be checking out that day, and with everything else going wrong, I was extremely frustrated at this point and asked why I was told I would be able to move my car if they were going to stop letting people in. They gave me the number of the property manager to see if she knew anything, and when I called, she asked who I was. I said I was a guest at the hotel who had been told I'd be able to move my car and now had no idea if I'd even be able to get to it, which would leave me stranded. Her response, "I've had a long day just like you, so don't give me any attitude." Now I was beyond blown away. She asked me when I wanted to get our car, and I said we needed to be on the road at 8am. She said that someone would meet us outside the garage at that time and would escort us up to the top level to get our car, unless it was one of the two that couldn't be moved (first time I'm told that's even a possibility).

Later on that night, we're watching television in the room, and see a story about the parking garage collapse on the news. This is how we find out that one of the cars has been destroyed! Again, we have heard nothing from the hotel at all and were terrified that the destroyed car could be ours.

Thankfully, it wasn't. And thankfully, the person whose car DID get destroyed wasn't actually his car, but a rental. Either way, we were all too happy to get away from this hotel and leave its negligence and poor standards behind. We will not be staying again.

Wow! o_O
 

trh

Nifty AND saffron-colored!
the what?
Alex Strife, the organizer of apex up until about a week ago, had been continuously sexually harassing women involved in the scene, including a 16 y.o. girl, and disrespecting a transsexual member after she shut down his advancements, by amongst other things referring to her by her birth name. Not to mention being a general shit.

Edit 14, not 16
 
Yeah don't blame the victims here. I'm sure they know how to plan an event. There's not much you can do when you're lied to and told the venue is safe.
You don't take the hotel at its word and you go scout it out? It'd be nice if they had been told the truth, but I've also never really heard of not scouting a hotel out. I know that for all the conferences I've helped host, we always send a team 6 months to a year in advance to go check out the place.
 

Sir TapTap

Member
Jesus Christ that's disgusting.

There's been some other drama too. Lots of people with lots of shit about Alex (was a super shit TO, people riding in the back of U Hauls and shit), the original streamer for Apex was let go totally not suspiciously after dishing dirt on Alex too. Not sure there's a good write up on all of that. Understandably the sexual predator stuff got most of the press.

You don't take the hotel at its word and you go scout it out? It'd be nice if they had been told the truth, but I've also never really heard of not scouting a hotel out. I know that for all the conferences I've helped host, we always send a team 6 months to a year in advance to go check out the place.

Damage to the garage happened this week. Hotel sounds like shit, but I doubt their worst-case scenario was anything like this.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
You don't take the hotel at its word and you go scout it out? It'd be nice if they had been told the truth, but I've also never really heard of not scouting a hotel out. I know that for all the conferences I've helped host, we always send a team 6 months to a year in advance to go check out the place.
Really?

What if something changes in 6 months' time?
 

jediyoshi

Member
You don't take the hotel at its word and you go scout it out? It'd be nice if they had been told the truth, but I've also never really heard of not scouting a hotel out. I know that for all the conferences I've helped host, we always send a team 6 months to a year in advance to go check out the place.

Do you actually think you could have anticipated structural damage? At best it seems like it'd be useful at getting the vibe of the staff and sizing up areas.
 

Exr

Member
Did nobody bother to actually go to the hotel or scout it out when booking? Or is the fault with the hotel for straight up lying? What a fucking joke, everyone was really looking forward to this. Hope things get sorted out but Im not too optimistic about it if this venue is garbo.
 
looks like the smash hype went through the roof




but seriously, i hope everything gets taken care of.. was looking forward to watching this weekend
 
Really?

What if something changes in 6 months' time?
Then too bad I guess. But having at least some first hand experience with the venue you're going to is at least some further insurance. I was pretty sure that was considered a fundamental of event planning. We never go into a venue blind. That's naive at best and (as evidenced here) dangerous at worst.
Damage to the garage happened this week. Hotel sounds like shit, but I doubt their worst-case scenario was anything like this.
I understand the garage thing happened this week. The hotel sounds disgusting and the staff sounds terrible. I would think that could have been determined before this week.
 
You don't take the hotel at its word and you go scout it out? It'd be nice if they had been told the truth, but I've also never really heard of not scouting a hotel out. I know that for all the conferences I've helped host, we always send a team 6 months to a year in advance to go check out the place.

Here's the thing. Even if they did scout the hotel out (maybe they did, I don't know), that would have been done months ago when everything was fine. The roof collapse happened days before the event. What were they supposed to do?
 

emb

Member
Did nobody bother to actually go to the hotel or scout it out when booking? Or is the fault with the hotel for straight up lying? What a fucking joke, everyone was really looking forward to this. Hope things get sorted out but Im not too optimistic about it if this venue is garbo.
Someone probably did check it out. Things that are huge safety violations aren't always immediately obvious just from taking a quick tour. And the parking deck didn't bust until this week, so at that point it was already late to be making any changes.

Edit: Beaten. Nevermind then.
 

WalTech

Member
My buddy is there, he said hotel personel are being arrested on site

It's not surprising. That's a structural slab meant for parking on top of and it collapsed completely under a small snow load. That doesn't happen unless something is tremendously wrong. Allowing anyone NEAR that building is a massive safety issue.

For context, most grocery stores where I'm from take more snow load than that (for months at a time, no less), and their flat roofs are just a corrugated metal sheet with some plywood, bitumen, and gravel on them being held up by thin open web joists. There's no way there wasn't serious structural damage prior to this snow storm, and there's no way no one knew about it.

It sucks that the tournament won't be able to happen there, but everyone's lucky the whole place didn't fall on their heads.
 
Here's the thing. Even if they did scout the hotel out (maybe they did, I don't know), that would have been done months ago when everything was fine. The roof collapse happened days before the event. What were they supposed to do?
It sounds like there are problems with the hotel besides the obvious roof collapse and that a visit would have evidenced things being not fine.
 

trh

Nifty AND saffron-colored!
Here's the thing. Even if they did scout the hotel out (maybe they did, I don't know), that would have been done months ago when everything was fine. The roof collapse happened days before the event. What were they supposed to do?
A cursory glance at the hotel's review history should have been enough of a deterrent for an event of this size.
 
I understand the garage thing happened this week. The hotel sounds disgusting and the staff sounds terrible. I would think that could have been determined before this week.

Thing is, I bet they scouted it and thought that the hotel looked kind of "janky", but that people could put up with it for a weekend if the event itself was nice. Especially since APEX, even with a bit of Nintendo help, isn't really rich. It's still run mostly out-of-pocket and I would imagine the Clarion was the least expensive option for the amount of space required (remember, all those games PLUS Nintendo's demonstration areas for Splatoon and likely other reveals.)

Substantial structural damage (which goes far beyond the generally cosmetic damage other reviews have mentioned) and the hotel being essentially condemned are not things any amount of scouting would reveal. This is absolutely, 100% the fault of the venue.
 
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