Philly and Pittsburgh Considered For 2016 DNC

Written by Vincent J. Smith, Contributing Writer

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.

February 26th, 2014 | Posted in Front Page Stories, Top Stories | 3 Comments