Dems pick Philadelphia for 2016 convention

Philadelphia has been chosen as the host city of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, party officials announced Thursday.

The decision is a huge disappointment for New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio had made a major effort to land the convention for Brooklyn. The city had put together a rich financial package to lure the Democratic National Committee.


The Democrats’ other finalist city was Columbus, Ohio.

The convention will be held in the Wells Fargo Center, home of the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers. The same building, then called the First Union Center, hosted the GOP convention in 2000.

“The role of Philadelphia in shaping our nation’s history is unmatched, but what’s also unmatched is the comprehensive proposal that the Philadelphia team put together,” said DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in a media conference call to discuss the decision.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who joined Wasserman Schultz on the call, said the city had promised to raise $84 million to support the event, including $12 million in pledged donor funds and $5 million already in an escrow account. Rendell said Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, had also pledged to match the same level of support that the city provided to host the Republican convention in 2000, when Republican Tom Ridge was governor. Ridge, Rendell noted, supports the city’s latest effort to snag the Democratic convention.

A Democratic official familiar with the decision said the choice was “a close call among the three” and came down almost entirely to logistics. A factor that hurt both Brooklyn and Columbus was the huge security perimeter of a modern convention, which requires surrounding blocks to be fenced off well ahead of the convention.

Both Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and the Columbus site are surrounded by apartments, churches and small businesses, which could mean huge disruptions. Philadelphia’s site is surrounded by parking lots, as well as larger-capacity baseball and football stadiums. Democrats scheduled the presidential nominee’s acceptance speech for outdoor football stadiums in Denver in 2008 and Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2012 — though the 2012 address was moved inside the day before the speech due to forecasts of rain.

Another major advantage for Philadelphia is the close proximity of hotels. Wasserman Schultz said there are about 18,500 hotel rooms within a 15-minute walk of the convention site.

“Delegate experience was a very, very important thing for us,” she said.

Mayor Michael Nutter told reporters that Philadelphia “is virtually a completely different city” from when it hosted the RNC in 2000. Wawa, a convenience store chain that’s become an iconic part of the Pennsylvania landscape, has seen explosive growth, he said, and even the Vatican has eyed Philadelphia as the host of a major international event.

Local officials in Philadelphia were jubilant. “That is one hell of a way to start a morning,” Nutter said, recalling his phone call from Wasserman Schultz to announce the decision.

Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.), a Philly political powerhouse and huge cheerleader for bringing the convention to the City of Brotherly Love, told the Inquirer’s Jonathan Tamari. “I like to think hugs make the difference,” saying that he hugged Wasserman Schultz daily over the past two months.

A big minus for New York was media work space, the DNC official said. Philly has space available near the Wells Fargo Center, while solutions were less obvious in New York.

Logistical concerns were a factor that hurt New York’s bid, a Democratic official said. Ohio has a limited donor base, and it would have been hard to raise enough money from local businesses to sustain two conventions in the Buckeye State.

The official said almost everything would be simpler and cheaper in Philadelphia, which hosted the Republican convention in 2000. The Democratic Party’s 2016 convention will take place the week of July 25. A contract was signed with Philadelphia this morning.

Republicans are holding their national convention in Cleveland the week of July 18. That means each convention is in a classic swing state.

“In addition to their commitment to a seamless and safe convention, Philadelphia’s deep-rooted place in American history provides a perfect setting for this special gathering,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement.

James Hohmann contributed to this report.