DNC officially announces the list of 11 cities

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

The DNC officially announced the list of 11 cities which are in the running to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The Democratic National Committee Monday said 11 cities, including New Orleans, have expressed interest in being the site of the party's 2008 convention.
DNC Chairman Howard Dean termed the interest in being the Democrats' host city "unprecedented."

In the running along with New Orleans, still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, is New York City, the site of the 2004 Republican National Convention. Others the DNC has invited to submit proposals are: Anaheim, Calif.; Dallas; Detroit; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix and San Antonio.

...

The DNC said the cities have until May 19 to submit proposals and then a Technical Advisory Committee will visit the sites. A final site determination is expected this fall, a DNC spokesman said.

[Update: I guess there's a reason no one uses UPI anymore. They left Denver off the list. Nothing like saying there are 11 cities, and then only listing 10 of them! Thanks to the commenter for catching this]

And from the AP:

WASHINGTON — Eleven cities have shown interest in playing host to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, twice the number of cities that applied to get the 2004 gathering.

...

The 11 cities that said they were interested: Anaheim, Calif.; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; New Orleans; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix and San Antonio.

Some of the cities are in critical swing states like Florida and Arizona, while others are in population centers like New York and the Los Angeles area. Those in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain region are in states where Democrats hope a growing Hispanic population could help tip the balance. Dallas and San Antonio are in firmly Republican Texas.

The location of these cities and the political inclination of those states will not be the only consideration. The cities must have a convention space that can seat 23,000 to 25,000 people (in portable or non-portable seating), must have 17,000 hotel rooms and 1,000 suites available, and be able to provide adequate office space, media work space and transportation to and from the convention site.

Nothing new here, but I guess it's now officially official. As I wrote last week, 11 cities expressing interest is not really unprecedented - there were 10 cities alive at this stage in 2004. And 11 is not twice 10.

One note on seats: The article says the DNC is looking for 23,000 to 25,000 seats, which is in line with what I posted in January. The seating numbers I posted last week were, in general, probably basketball seating. You could add 1000-1500 for floor seating, but I don't know how you get to 23,000 except in the domes. But I do know you can't come close in a Convention Center-type facility.