Philly Gets Ready to Sell Itself for DNC
Well, this is it: Philly’s time to shine.
We’re one of five cities competing to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Site selectors will visit next week. And local officials plan to put on quite a show for them.
Mayor Nutter and other Democrats gathered across from the Liberty Bell to drum up attention to next week’s visit. Philadelphia is one of five cities vying to host the 2016 DNC, and nearly 20 members of the site committee will be here next Wednesday and Thursday. Joining Nutter was former Governor Ed Rendell.
“We’re going to do everything we can to win this bid. We’ll know probably by the end of the year,” Rendell said.
Newsworks says the bid comes with a cost:
The city is raising just under $1 million for the first phase of the competition, said Mayor Michael Nutter.
“There’s the bid phase, we’re in that now,” he said. “If and when you win, then you launch into, of course, a much larger phase. But we’re in the bid phase now, and certainly well into getting the dollars we need for that.”
The city hosted the Republican National Convention in the year 2000 to good reviews. If the city is selected to host the Democrats, it will have to come up with $60 million to $70 million in contributions to stage the event.
And the Daily News gives a preview of what Democratic officials will be looking at:
They’ll look at things like the local hotel-room inventory — up 24.5 percent in the region since the city hosted the Republican National Convention in 2000 — along with transportation infrastructure and travel time from hotels to event locations.
They will tour the Wells Fargo Center, where the main convention would be held, along with the Pennsylvania Convention Center and iconic Philly locations like Independence Hall and Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Believe it or not: Cheesesteaks will be involved.
