LK,
I'll try to address a few things but I can get into the specifics of the happenings at Greenville because I was at Arcanum for the weekend.
First as far as profit goes, it is not as much as you think. The Wave does not own nor operate the Stebbins complex. We also do not operate the concession stand. All monies generated from Stebbins goes to the local Greenville rec program. The only money the Wave recieves from the tournament is from fees and what little money we can make from apparel. Out of the $1200 profit, we have to pay for complex rental, insurance, ASA fees, balls, etc. It's all of the other little things that get you. There is not as much money left over as you might think.
Second, When we were looking at the format, we made the decision to try something new. Longer game times so you could get full games in. There is alway a tradeoff in anything you do. Longer game times with more games (6) meant less revenue, i.e. the decision to fly with one umpire.
Third, I'm not a big fan of porta-pots either. This be addressed next summer with the new concession building. Still could have been pumped if they were as bad as you said. We'll address that with the complex people.
Fourth, Ump quality - can't comment because I wasn't there.
Last - Big fields. I agree. I would love to always play on regulation fenced fields but it is simply is not going to happen very much in Ohio. Maybe it does more for 16U and 18U but more often than not we (12U) play on fields that are fenceless, even in the big tournaments (Stingrays, GAPPS, Sluggerfest, Toledo Tune-Up)
Finally, believe it or not, we do appreciate your feedback. This is a new format that we wanted to try to see if is do-able or makes sense. This was a test run to iron out the bugs, see what works and what doesn't and try to hone in a good tournament. We still feel that more games with longer time limits is the way to go. It may just take some trial and error to find the right balance.
I'm curious to get some feedback from the teams that played in Arcanum, What suggestions, complaints, compliments do you have.
Mike.