Denver is one of just three cities vying for the 2008 Democratic National Convention after New Orleans withdrew its bid this week.
New Orleans had been considered a sentimental favorite location to pick the next Democratic presidential candidate as a way of showcasing the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
Its withdrawal leaves just Denver, Minneapolis and New York in the running.
“And of those,” said City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, who co-chairs Denver’s host committee, “Denver is the only one not bidding for the Republican National Convention as well.”
New Orlean’s decision is good for Denver’s chances, but it also points to the burden of hosting a convention that is expected to cost over $70 million.
“When we saw that we would have to raise probably more than $70 million, we just felt like at this time that was not a good use of our energy and resources considering all the other challenges that our city is facing right now,” said Mary Beth Romig with the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau.
She said New Orleans was capable of hosting large conferences, but raising money was the issue.
“It was just a daunting task to go to our corporate base and ask them to raise 70 million dollars.”
For Denver’s part, Mayor John Hickenlooper has welcomed a convention bid as a way of giving the city a national audience. But he has promised that the city will not spend public dollars in support of the bid.
Host committee chairs Wedgeworth and attorney Steve Farber are working to raise private dollars locally, and Hickenlooper said earlier this week that he is asking governors up and down the Rocky Mountain West to help raise funds.
So far, the governors of Arizona, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming have not committed to a dollar figure.
