Philly hosting Democratic convention site visit

August 13, 2014 By Sean Carlin Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Will Philadelphia, shown here, beat out Brooklyn for the 2016 Democratic National Convention? AP Photo/Dave Martin, File

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PHILADELPHIA— Democratic National Committee representatives considering where to host the 2016 convention were greeted by local politicians and hundreds of supporters when they arrived Wednesday at a downtown hotel for a two-day visit.

Representatives from the DNC’s site committee are in Philadelphia as part of a tour to assess the city’s ability to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Philadelphia is one of five cities bidding to host the convention along with Birmingham, Alabama; Columbus, Ohio; Brooklyn, New York, and Phoenix.

Hundreds of people were on hand to welcome the DNC officials, who traveled to Philadelphia by bus from New York City.

After some downtime at the hotel, the committee members were scheduled to make the nearly compulsory stop at Pat’s Steaks for cheesesteaks followed by a trip to Wells Fargo Center, the south Philadelphia arena the convention would be held at if Philadelphia were selected. The city’s convention center also would be used for caucus meetings and other convention-related events.

The trip is scheduled to wrap up on Thursday after visits to the Comcast Center and a rally at the National Constitution Center. It is expected to cost more than $200,000 between in-kind contributions and expenses from the nonprofit, said Kevin Washo, a lead strategist for the nonprofit pushing to hold the convention in Philadelphia.

Mayor Michael Nutter, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Brady held a rally at a beer garden near Independence Hall last week to drum up support for the city’s bid to host the convention.