Dec 16, 2006 12:03 am US/Mountain
How Much Money Would The DNC Bring To Denver?
by Alan Gionet
DENVER (CBS4) ―
A decision on the 2008
Democratic National Convention could come next week and top democrats in Colorado are working the phones to bring their party's national convention to the state.
So, if the convention comes to the state, there will be national exposure and raw dollars but how much money will the DNC bring to Denver?
One thing's for sure about the Democratic convention: if you host it, they will come.
The crowd would include delegates and their families with a penchant for souvenirs, political operatives and the hordes of media.
"We anticipate the economic impact to be very comparable to what the other cities have seen," said Richard Scharf, President of Convention and Visitor's Bureau. "About $160 million dollars of direct and indirect economic impact."
Attendance is guaranteed and
Denver will have to spend money for security, public relations and traffic that will come later.
The estimate of how much money a convention brings in is from the place where they held the last Democratic convention ... Boston in 2004.
A public policy research organization called the
Beacon Hill Institute found the Democratic convention brought in more than $156 million for Boston.
However, the organization said there are costs to consider including the lost business from the displacement of other events, lost tourist spending, and additional commuter spending in delays and re-routing.
Even by subtracting those expenses, Boston still had a $14.8 million gain.
Denver convention backers say there's more to it for Colorado.
Scharf believes the timing, right before Labor Day, would be good for Denver.
"You know Boston had their convention right during peak tourism season and probably peak business travel season so they probably had a few offsetting impacts that we won't experience here," Scharf said.
In fact, some claim the convention would be the beginning of a longer stay.
"We believe that the people coming here for the convention will stay on afterwards so most of us believe it's going to be a shot of the arm to the tourism business, not a negative," said Steve Farber, Denver Host Committee Co-Chair.
What worked a little for Boston just might work a little more for Colorado.
Los Angeles hosted the 2000
DNC and pulled in an estimated $147 million with less expense. Some business owners around the convention said the big crowds never materialized. They said delegates ate free at corporate sponsored parties.
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