Thursday, January 11, 2007

The Dems are coming!

Yep, Howard Dean announces today that the 2008 Dems presidential convention will be in Denver. Full story

To all the businesses who pledged money to bring the convention to town, get ready. There's $55 million to be raised before the convention in 2008. Molson Coors, EchoStar and Qwest have all pledged support so far, but the host committee is going to be making the rounds asking for more.

Money coordinator Willie Shepherd says $25 million or so already has been pledged, mostly in cash but with some in kind. Now he'll be reaching out to companies based in places other than Colorado for their support.

Members of the host committee that lured the Democrats (nearly all Denver-born) were giddy with the news that Denver had been chosen over New York (was that champagne I saw one member drinking before a news conference?), but then again, NYC Mayor Bloomberg didn't really sound like he wanted to be chosen.

FYI, booking hotel rooms during the convention as of this afternoon was not an easy thing. Prices at one hotel were 3x the normal rate. Others hadn't set their prices yet. Media will be snatching up rooms as will Democrats (one news organization is planning to book 100+ rooms), so keep that in mind, Denver wedding people and event planners.

So what do you say, Colorado? Olympics in 2040?

No comments: