Both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia received letters encouraging the two cities to apply to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Philadelphia’s own Rep. Bob Brady (PA-1) is strongly supporting the DNC in Philly.
Hosting the DNC is quite an expense for the city that is chosen, with an estimated $50 to $60 million is needed to foot the bill.
But many, including Rep. Brady, believe that the initial costs are outweighed by the enormous profits that the city can reap during the DNC. Back in 2000, when the Republicans held their National Convention in Philadelphia, the city took in $345 million in tourism and added businesses dollars, according to a city study.
But there are multiple specification that the chosen city has to meet. For example, the venue picked by the Democratic committee needs to be able to seat between 18,500 and 25,000 people and have 100 skyboxes. There must also be at least 17,000 hotel rooms and 1,000 suites to properly house all those who will be in attendance.
Specifically for the DNC, the hotels that house all the out-of-town Democrats have to employ unionized workers.
Both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia seemed like logical choices for the DNC: predominantly Democratic cities positioned in a crucial swing state.
Either city could make a run with the deadline to apply not until March 1.
A source close to the PA GOP told PoliticsPA that neither city was being considered for the RNC convention in 2016, since the state hosted the convention in Philadelphia in 2000. Cleveland, Columbus, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Kansas City seem to be the rumored candidates for Republicans.
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3 Responses
Hey, Al, when was the last time you were in Pittsburgh? It’s only be nationally and internationally recognized as one of the best places in America to live about a dozen or so times in the last few years. But, you know, keep on believing whatever someone told you in 1974…
I could see Pittsburgh being chosen to host. It would almost be a definite if by 2016 we would have a female governor with Hillary running for the Democrat nomination. The only issue I foresee is all of the hotel rooms and the location were we would hold it…like when U.S. Open came to Oakmont, they would be using hotels up to 20 minutes outside the city (my area). The only place big enough for the event to be held right now is the Consol Energy center.
And since I’m a Republican…I just wanted to put my two cents in on the possible location for the RNC. I believe it will be either Las Vegas or Columbus. Both are ever growing cities, in states that are considered battleground states. I would personally go with Columbus…it is in central Ohio and is a nice city that is growing, a nice backdrop for the Republicans. It’s also in the manufacturing/coal centered north and an area that Republicans have to win.
Yea bring it to Pittsburgh the sewage disposal of PA!