By Rich Grant

Denver will play host to the Democratic National Convention Aug. 25-29, 2008, in what will be the largest traditional convention in the city’s history, according to the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Denver has routinely hosted conventions of 28,000 to 30,000 people. But with an estimated attendance of 35,000, the DNC will be the single largest traditional gathering.
 “We are thrilled and honored to have been selected for this convention after intense competition with some of the largest cities in the country,” said Bureau president & CEO Richard Scharf. “The DNC will bring a huge economic boost and national and international exposure to Denver during a week that is traditionally very slow for the city’s hospitality industry.”
Scharf said he has no doubts about Denver’s ability to handle a group this size.
“Metro Denver has added over 5,000 hotel rooms since 2000 and there are another 2,000 rooms set to come on line before the DNC,” Scharf said “We currently have more than 40,000 hotel rooms in the metro area. The DNC is requesting only 18,000 rooms for their meeting. Boston hosted this meeting in 2004 with 35,000 hotel rooms.”
Late August is a traditionally slow period for the city’s hospitality industry.
“Many schools have started classes and it is the tail end of the summer season,” Scharf said. “The DNC will give Denver a real economic boost during a week that would normally have been slow.”
Scharf said the DNC will not have a huge impact on city traffic.
“In September, we have times where there are events at Coors Field, INVESCO Field at Mile High and the Pepsi Center all on the same day,” he said. “That type of situation can bring more than 120,000 people into downtown, most of them locals driving cars. Compared to that, we will have relatively few people coming in and out of the downtown area, the vast majority of them using buses.”
Based on previous DNC conventions, the Bureau estimates that the DNC convention will bring an estimated $160 million in direct and indirect spending. And then there is the media coverage.
“This will unquestionably be the biggest media event in the city’s history, with reporters, broadcasters and photographers attending from virtually every country in the world,” Scharf said.
Based on previous Democratic conventions, it is not unreasonable to expect many national network morning shows and many national network evening news shows to broadcast live from Denver, Scharf said.
“There will certainly be a lot of news stories about why Denver was chosen and how the city stands as a shining example of the best that America has to offer,” he said. “Denver has grown so much in the past decade, that it is difficult to get the word out about how much the city has changed. This will be an incredible opportunity to tell the world about the new Denver.”
The DNC meeting marks the 100-year anniversary of the last time the Democrats held a national convention in the city.
“Our Bureau was founded in 1909, one year after the Democrats first met here, primarily because the Democratic convention was such a huge economic success for Denver,” Scharf stated. “In 1909, some Denver businessmen got together and decided that if the Democratic convention was a hit, they should encourage more conventions and meetings to come to Denver. At that time, it was only the sixth convention bureau formed in America. Today, there are more than 400 convention and visitor bureaus.”
World Youth Day in 1993 attracted an estimated 90,000 youths from around the world, however the majority of them stayed in private homes, campgrounds and other facilities created specifically for this event. The DNC will be the largest event using hotel rooms.
Other notable Denver conventions have included Lions International with 30,000 in 1988 and 2003; the Consumer Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) with 28,000 in 2006; and the Imperial Shrine with 30,000 in 1994 and 2005.

Editor’s note: Rich Grant is communications director for the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau.