Mayor John Street has announced that Philadelphia will not be submitting a bid to host the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
The high cost of hosting such an event, especially with increased security costs, contributed to the decision not to submit a bid for the 2004 convention.
Philadelphia hosted the 2000 Republican National Convention, which provided an enormous boost to hotel and tourism industries in the city. Street cited the Republican Convention's success as an additional reason to refrain from placing a bid for the Democratic Convention.
"We feel that we are still reaping the benefits of hosting the 2000 Republican National Convention," Street spokeswoman Christine Ottow said. "It put us on the map as being a major player for large trade shows."
Despite the boost that the event provided to Philadelphia's economy, the Republican Convention cost the city $60 million -- including $10 million for security.
If Philadelphia were to host the 2004 Democratic convention, while the officials believe costs would be comparable to the 2000 Republican Convention, "we don't feel we could get the same returns on our investment," Ottow said. "Having hosted so successful and flawless a convention is already turning more events our way."
Prior to making his announcement last week, Street met with leaders in the hotel and tourism industries. Most shared Street's concern with the costs and other more pressing priorities within the industry, and agreed that the benefits already provided by the Republican Convention were substantial.
According to Mickey Rowley, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, the hotels in the area are still profiting from the 2000 convention.
"We saw a huge surge during the five days [of the convention] and those leading up to and following the event, but the value was not just in those five or six days," he said.
Despite the boost the 2004 convention would have provided to the hotel and tourism industries, especially during the typically slow month of August, officials from the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association agreed with Street's decision.
"As the hotel industry, we're always interested in business for the hospitality industry," Rowley said. "But it is not our place to say that the city should spend that kind of money. There are other projects that those resources should be spent on."
One of these key projects, according to Street and business leaders, is the expansion of Philadelphia's Convention Center. This project will cost an estimated $464 million.
To provide an additional boost to hotels and tourist sites within Philadelphia, the city recently finished its "Philadelphia is more fun when you sleep over" campaign, which gave discounts and incentives to Philadelphia visitors who stayed in a city hotel for an evening.
According to Rowley, 36,000 room nights were booked during the campaign, and even though that number pales in comparison to numbers during the Republican convention, it still represents success.
Ten cities are currently being considered by the National Democratic Party as possible hosts for the 2004 convention including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, New York, New Orleans and Pittsburgh.
