Denver gets major pledges

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Denver's bid to host the 2008 Democratic Convention received another boost today when it announced that it had received pledges of $11.5 million in cash and in-kind contributions:

Qwest and Comcast have pledged $5 million each, and Xcel Energy $1.5 million, said attorney Steve Farber, co-chairman of Denver's host committee.
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Dean has told the Denver host committee that his biggest fear about the city's bid was its ability to raise money. "We're extremely close to the $20 million, but we're not stopping," said Farber, a longtime political fundraiser. "We're going to raise as much as we can from the greater Colorado business community."
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Xcel is also contributing $1.5 million to the Republican National Convention, to be held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

It's pretty clear this was a check-off item for Denver. Dean: You've got to have more than $10 million in announced pledges before we can give you the convention. Denver: Check. And it's interesting that in spite of New York's supposed money problems, there hasn't been a similar announcement from New York.