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DNC economic impact: Boom or bust? Always a bust, Democrats are tightwads with THEIR money, not yours.
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Deke
Sep 30, 2012, 5:44:44 PM9/30/12
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Obama doesn't pay his campaign bills. Why would you expect the democratic
party to pay theirs? Obama owes money all over the country.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. In visitor spending, the Democratic National Convention
will dwarf other conventions Charlotte has hosted.
The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority first estimated the event would
generate 75,000 hotel room nights and $75.4 million in direct spending.
The CRVA has also said it could generate as much impact as the 2008 DNC in
Denver, which officials there reported brought $134 million in new
spending.
That’s more spending than the Charlotte Convention Center would generate
in a typical year.
In Charlotte, millions will be spent upfitting Time Warner Cable Arena.
Police officers will receive overtime pay and caterers will take in
hundreds of thousands of dollars for private parties. Hotels will be
nearly full during one of the slowest weeks of the year – when only 20
percent of rooms are sold – and they will also be able to charge higher
rates.
But some economists caution that the net effect of new dollars may not be
what it seems. One reason is the so-called crowding-out theory.
A large security zone could thwart visitors from spending and keep locals
at home. It’s possible that thousands of Charlotteans will not go to work
or will avoid their regular lunchtime restaurants.
On the last day of the convention, for instance, the John Belk Freeway
around uptown will be closed.
At the NATO conference in Chicago in May, the heart of the city was a
ghost town during the two-day event. Workers stayed home; stores and
restaurants suffered. Some businesses boarded their windows in
anticipation of protesters.
Wells Fargo is encouraging workers based in other cities to avoid
Charlotte during the DNC.
“When you consider all of the security now, it may well be that you impair
the free-flow of commercial activity to negatively affect the local
economy,” said Robert Baade, a professor of economics and business at Lake
Forest College in Illinois who has studied the impact of conventions.
Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, during an August press conference announcing
the federal security plan for the city, stressed that uptown will remain
open. He said there are some businesses who are expecting more business
from the DNC, including restaurants and a FedEx Office on South Tryon
Street.
And DNC officials say there will be little crowding out on Labor Day,
which is the day before the convention starts. Much of uptown would be
quiet anyway.
Instead, delegates and media will already be in Charlotte, awaiting the
start of the convention the following Tuesday.
Boston DNC: Lost business hurt
After the 2004 DNC in Boston, the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk
University in Boston said the city’s net gain for the convention was
marginal, at $15 million, because of lost business.
It’s also unclear how much DNC attendees will spend. The host committee
estimates there will be 15,000 media members and 6,000 delegates. It’s
likely those visitors will have their own hotel rooms and eat out
frequently.
But the DNC expects a total of 35,000 people – with 14,000 being a mix of
volunteers, campaign staff, demonstrators and organizations.
Baade co-wrote a paper in 2008 that compared convention cities with other
metro areas, and found no change in employment or personal income per
capita in cities where conventions were held.
City: Can’t quantify the attention
Sales-tax receipts from September can be scrutinized to help determine the
economic impact. But city officials believe the worldwide attention
focused on Charlotte is priceless.
“Attracting conventions to town heightens the visibility of the city, and
you may attract businesses because of it,” said Harrison Campbell, an
associate professor of geography at UNC Charlotte. “But I don’t think we
know how many businesses came here because they came to Charlotte for a
convention and said it’s a great place, let’s move there.”
The Charlotte Chamber supports having the DNC due to the publicity it will
bring the city, and it hopes that will translate to companies deciding to
invest in Charlotte.
The Chamber, however, isn’t aware of any companies deciding to relocate or
expand in Denver after the 2008 DNC.
Comments:
JBIGNATIUS • 14 days ago
How about if we ask the question again: Exactly HOW much have we raised
to offset the Charlotte taxpayer liability of $36 Million? There's only
less than 3 weeks to go and STILL no accounting by Foxx, the DNC Chair,
Jim Rogers or any of the other Leftists!
9 •Reply•Share ›
nedmorlef • 14 days ago • parent
if they operate as surrounding counties, they obtain it by force. nothing
like an asset rich cash poor working class stiff that, likes to grow a
garden year round. he has 99% of the tools for growing drugs.one well
placed seed or stem and viola! the county sheriff is in the real estate
business.
1 •Reply•Share ›
hopewell • 14 days ago • parent
nedmorlef you need to put down the pipe for a while.
0 •Reply•Share ›
MAKENZEE • 14 days ago
Were gonna lose our butts, the taxpayers will be the ones who pay. Should
have watched Flashpoint on Sunday and listened to what Brian Williams said
about previous DNC cities. Atleast Charlotte, we are getting the roads
that needed to be paved done and the pot holes filled. Couldn't fine the
money in the budget before and WOW pulled out of thin air now.
7 •Reply•Share ›
carolynnty • 14 days ago
From my perspective, the biggest problem is being lied to. It seems that
our mayor, the CRVA, the county manager, the tax assessor, the school
board chairman, CMS administration, Center City Partners, our police
chief, the idiot economist from UNCC, the head of our monopolistic power
company--in other words, virtually all of Charlotte's leaders --can lie to
the citizens with impunity. Caught in bare faced lie? "No problem...our
cronies will give us a raise and a bonus. " Caught again? " No problem, I
got a get out of jail free card.". Caught a third time? "for pols and
bureacrats, there's no '3 strikes, you're out,' that's for the fools who
elect us".
It is sickening.
6 •Reply•Share ›
nedmorlef • 14 days ago
depends entirely on how many jaywalking tickets per minute and adjusted
for out of towners paying cash.
4 •Reply•Share ›
uncledeano • 14 days ago
All of this Big time Charlotte scrap is gonna bite the taxpayers on the
rear end...bottom end
3 •Reply•Share ›
JBIGNATIUS • 14 days ago • parent
Yep! Of course they're going to lie and tell a half-truth and say that
since any shortage is coming out of the hotel/motel/car rental tax,
Charlotteans won't be asked to pay for it (complete bull of course).
But guess what? That same tax is used to recruit businesses (Chiquita
anyone?) as well as conventions, tournaments, etc. The recent CO article
already shows that we're spending millions of dollars to recruit these
conventions here and yet aren't returning a sufficient ROI to justify the
expense, so what happens when the CRVA doesn't bring in enough revenue?
You guessed it!
Bend over taxpayers! You're gonna get hit again!
6 •Reply•Share ›
nedmorlef • 14 days ago • parent
you do realize we could clean out congress with a simple "pass the credit
check" law? it'll show that, they spend their own money with the same
reckless abandon and thus exclude them for making laws for u and me.
3 •Reply•Share ›
muddy • 13 days ago
I hope it's a success though!
1 •Reply•Share ›
muddy • 13 days ago
What about the small businesses that have been told that their workers
won't be able to "get to their jobs" because of closed roads? Who pays
for the loss of work? Small businesses "in this economy" don't have money
to pay their bills or employees when their doors have to be shut.
1 •Reply•Share ›
hopewell • 14 days ago
I hope for the employees' sake there's not a Chick Fil A in uptown.
1 •Reply•Share ›
Guest • 7 days ago
And how about the outrageous fees that Tim Newman charged to be listed or
join? Pretty much to the point that you CANNOT join at all. Meanwhile, he
was collecting a 300k salary with bonus? Sickening and outrageous.
Extremely damaging to the entire tourism industry and museum councils.
0 •Reply•Share ›
koamt41 • 14 days ago -
compared to the money the democrats are throwing into the DNC,,mmmmm bust
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/20/3467822/how-much-money-will-
the-dnc-bring.html
party to pay theirs? Obama owes money all over the country.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. In visitor spending, the Democratic National Convention
will dwarf other conventions Charlotte has hosted.
The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority first estimated the event would
generate 75,000 hotel room nights and $75.4 million in direct spending.
The CRVA has also said it could generate as much impact as the 2008 DNC in
Denver, which officials there reported brought $134 million in new
spending.
That’s more spending than the Charlotte Convention Center would generate
in a typical year.
In Charlotte, millions will be spent upfitting Time Warner Cable Arena.
Police officers will receive overtime pay and caterers will take in
hundreds of thousands of dollars for private parties. Hotels will be
nearly full during one of the slowest weeks of the year – when only 20
percent of rooms are sold – and they will also be able to charge higher
rates.
But some economists caution that the net effect of new dollars may not be
what it seems. One reason is the so-called crowding-out theory.
A large security zone could thwart visitors from spending and keep locals
at home. It’s possible that thousands of Charlotteans will not go to work
or will avoid their regular lunchtime restaurants.
On the last day of the convention, for instance, the John Belk Freeway
around uptown will be closed.
At the NATO conference in Chicago in May, the heart of the city was a
ghost town during the two-day event. Workers stayed home; stores and
restaurants suffered. Some businesses boarded their windows in
anticipation of protesters.
Wells Fargo is encouraging workers based in other cities to avoid
Charlotte during the DNC.
“When you consider all of the security now, it may well be that you impair
the free-flow of commercial activity to negatively affect the local
economy,” said Robert Baade, a professor of economics and business at Lake
Forest College in Illinois who has studied the impact of conventions.
Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, during an August press conference announcing
the federal security plan for the city, stressed that uptown will remain
open. He said there are some businesses who are expecting more business
from the DNC, including restaurants and a FedEx Office on South Tryon
Street.
And DNC officials say there will be little crowding out on Labor Day,
which is the day before the convention starts. Much of uptown would be
quiet anyway.
Instead, delegates and media will already be in Charlotte, awaiting the
start of the convention the following Tuesday.
Boston DNC: Lost business hurt
After the 2004 DNC in Boston, the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk
University in Boston said the city’s net gain for the convention was
marginal, at $15 million, because of lost business.
It’s also unclear how much DNC attendees will spend. The host committee
estimates there will be 15,000 media members and 6,000 delegates. It’s
likely those visitors will have their own hotel rooms and eat out
frequently.
But the DNC expects a total of 35,000 people – with 14,000 being a mix of
volunteers, campaign staff, demonstrators and organizations.
Baade co-wrote a paper in 2008 that compared convention cities with other
metro areas, and found no change in employment or personal income per
capita in cities where conventions were held.
City: Can’t quantify the attention
Sales-tax receipts from September can be scrutinized to help determine the
economic impact. But city officials believe the worldwide attention
focused on Charlotte is priceless.
“Attracting conventions to town heightens the visibility of the city, and
you may attract businesses because of it,” said Harrison Campbell, an
associate professor of geography at UNC Charlotte. “But I don’t think we
know how many businesses came here because they came to Charlotte for a
convention and said it’s a great place, let’s move there.”
The Charlotte Chamber supports having the DNC due to the publicity it will
bring the city, and it hopes that will translate to companies deciding to
invest in Charlotte.
The Chamber, however, isn’t aware of any companies deciding to relocate or
expand in Denver after the 2008 DNC.
Comments:
JBIGNATIUS • 14 days ago
How about if we ask the question again: Exactly HOW much have we raised
to offset the Charlotte taxpayer liability of $36 Million? There's only
less than 3 weeks to go and STILL no accounting by Foxx, the DNC Chair,
Jim Rogers or any of the other Leftists!
9 •Reply•Share ›
nedmorlef • 14 days ago • parent
if they operate as surrounding counties, they obtain it by force. nothing
like an asset rich cash poor working class stiff that, likes to grow a
garden year round. he has 99% of the tools for growing drugs.one well
placed seed or stem and viola! the county sheriff is in the real estate
business.
1 •Reply•Share ›
hopewell • 14 days ago • parent
nedmorlef you need to put down the pipe for a while.
0 •Reply•Share ›
MAKENZEE • 14 days ago
Were gonna lose our butts, the taxpayers will be the ones who pay. Should
have watched Flashpoint on Sunday and listened to what Brian Williams said
about previous DNC cities. Atleast Charlotte, we are getting the roads
that needed to be paved done and the pot holes filled. Couldn't fine the
money in the budget before and WOW pulled out of thin air now.
7 •Reply•Share ›
carolynnty • 14 days ago
From my perspective, the biggest problem is being lied to. It seems that
our mayor, the CRVA, the county manager, the tax assessor, the school
board chairman, CMS administration, Center City Partners, our police
chief, the idiot economist from UNCC, the head of our monopolistic power
company--in other words, virtually all of Charlotte's leaders --can lie to
the citizens with impunity. Caught in bare faced lie? "No problem...our
cronies will give us a raise and a bonus. " Caught again? " No problem, I
got a get out of jail free card.". Caught a third time? "for pols and
bureacrats, there's no '3 strikes, you're out,' that's for the fools who
elect us".
It is sickening.
6 •Reply•Share ›
nedmorlef • 14 days ago
depends entirely on how many jaywalking tickets per minute and adjusted
for out of towners paying cash.
4 •Reply•Share ›
uncledeano • 14 days ago
All of this Big time Charlotte scrap is gonna bite the taxpayers on the
rear end...bottom end
3 •Reply•Share ›
JBIGNATIUS • 14 days ago • parent
Yep! Of course they're going to lie and tell a half-truth and say that
since any shortage is coming out of the hotel/motel/car rental tax,
Charlotteans won't be asked to pay for it (complete bull of course).
But guess what? That same tax is used to recruit businesses (Chiquita
anyone?) as well as conventions, tournaments, etc. The recent CO article
already shows that we're spending millions of dollars to recruit these
conventions here and yet aren't returning a sufficient ROI to justify the
expense, so what happens when the CRVA doesn't bring in enough revenue?
You guessed it!
Bend over taxpayers! You're gonna get hit again!
6 •Reply•Share ›
nedmorlef • 14 days ago • parent
you do realize we could clean out congress with a simple "pass the credit
check" law? it'll show that, they spend their own money with the same
reckless abandon and thus exclude them for making laws for u and me.
3 •Reply•Share ›
muddy • 13 days ago
I hope it's a success though!
1 •Reply•Share ›
muddy • 13 days ago
What about the small businesses that have been told that their workers
won't be able to "get to their jobs" because of closed roads? Who pays
for the loss of work? Small businesses "in this economy" don't have money
to pay their bills or employees when their doors have to be shut.
1 •Reply•Share ›
hopewell • 14 days ago
I hope for the employees' sake there's not a Chick Fil A in uptown.
1 •Reply•Share ›
Guest • 7 days ago
And how about the outrageous fees that Tim Newman charged to be listed or
join? Pretty much to the point that you CANNOT join at all. Meanwhile, he
was collecting a 300k salary with bonus? Sickening and outrageous.
Extremely damaging to the entire tourism industry and museum councils.
0 •Reply•Share ›
koamt41 • 14 days ago -
compared to the money the democrats are throwing into the DNC,,mmmmm bust
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/20/3467822/how-much-money-will-
the-dnc-bring.html
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