PHILADELPHIA (AP) — 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.
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.
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