Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus vying for 2016 Political Conventions (Washington, Franklin: sale, foreclosure)

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by ZnGuy

Gotta admit if between CLE and COL I would think Rock-n-Roll city would be the most attractive for a convention. I've lived years in both cities and I just consider CLE a more exciting town with more variety of things to do. There are so many cities like COL (Indy comes to mind) and I just don't see any advantage that the city has over the city on the north coast.

I'm positively shocked you would hold this opinion. Really. Shocked.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Natural510

Not sure why tourist attractions matter...Charlotte and Tampa aren't exactly New York and San Francisco. Larkin thinks it's the main selling point, but you can bet those responsible for the final decision are more interested in infrastructure, proximity of the arenas, convention centers and major hotels, and overall competence of city leaders and their ability to deliver a speedy, organized week-long convention.

Yep. These people aren't coming anywhere to see the sights. They're coming to masturbate to party lines and congratulate themselves on nominating another election's worth of terrible candidates. That said, it will be a financial positive for whatever cities get the conventions. If Columbus doesn't get them, I hope they at least go to Ohio. Though now that Cleveland has shown all its class, I'd rather them go to Cincy.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Cleveland is the better city for a 2016 political convention but Columbus will fight for it: Brent Larkin | cleveland.com

Clevelanders firing off attacks.

And by Clevelanders you mean Clevelander.

From a Cleveland newspaper.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

And by Clevelanders you mean Clevelander.

From a Cleveland newspaper.

Also referring to many of the comments.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Also referring to many of the comments.

Rule number 1 of cleveland.cm reading:

never read the comments. I assure you there is more cleveland bashing on cleveland.com than columbus bashing. By far.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Rule number 1 of cleveland.cm reading:

never read the comments. I assure you there is more cleveland bashing on cleveland.com than columbus bashing. By far.

Maybe it just depends on the topic, then. Still, I haven't seen publications from the other 2 cities going out of their way to write what basically amounts to trash talk. No matter where the conventions end up (if they even end up in Ohio at all), it will be positive for the state. The constant infighting just makes the state look bad.

[WheresTheBeef]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Yep. These people aren't coming anywhere to see the sights. They're coming to masturbate to party lines and congratulate themselves on nominating another election's worth of terrible candidates. That said, it will be a financial positive for whatever cities get the conventions. If Columbus doesn't get them, I hope they at least go to Ohio. Though now that Cleveland has shown all its class, I'd rather them go to Cincy.

Given that the local TV stations were wall-to-wall election commercials in 2012, I say Columbus gets it for the free advertising.

Columbus is THE battleground city in THE battleground state. Metro Cincinnati is going to vote Republican and Metro Cleveland is going to vote Democrat. Columbus is the only place where they have the chance to tip the scales.

Columbus has a nicer arena (actually, two of them), convention center and Arena district. If they want to hold an outdoor event, Huntington Park and/or Crew stadium provides an appropriately sized venue. There will be too many empty seats using anything larger.

[WheresTheBeef]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Franklin County, though, is NOT a swing county. It hasn't went Republican since 1992 and has been steadily getting more Democratic in presidential elections since.

Democratic vs. Republican votes by % in Franklin County since 1976
1976: 41.6/55.7
1980: 38.6/53.9
1984: 33.7/64.1
1988: 39.1/60.0
1992: 39.7/41.9
1996: 48.1/44.5
2000: 48.8/47.8
2004: 54.4/45.1
2008: 59.6/38.9
2012: 60.5/37.7

There once was a time when the Democrats couldn't field a candidate for mayor (see video link). George Bush and the war in Iraq is what tipped the scales.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smq_u1Ky9Vk

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by WheresTheBeef

Given that the local TV stations were wall-to-wall election commercials in 2012, I say Columbus gets it for the free advertising.

Columbus is THE battleground city in THE battleground state. Metro Cincinnati is going to vote Republican and Metro Cleveland is going to vote Democrat. Columbus is the only place where they have the chance to tip the scales.

Columbus has a nicer arena (actually, two of them), convention center and Arena district. If they want to hold an outdoor event, Huntington Park and/or Crew stadium provides an appropriately sized venue. There will be too many empty seats using anything larger.

How does Columbus's convention center compare to Cleveland's? I haven't been to Cleveland's yet and was just wondering how well they did it.

But hey, don't forget, Cleveland has the Q, Progressive Field, Wolstein, Cleveland Browns Stadium too.

[WheresTheBeef]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

How does Columbus's convention center compare to Cleveland's? I haven't been to Cleveland's yet and was just wondering how well they did it.

But hey, don't forget, Cleveland has the Q, Progressive Field, Wolstein, Cleveland Browns Stadium too.

My comparison was to what Cincinnati has to offer as I considered Cleveland out of the running. Riverfront Coliseum is a joke. Cleveland obviously has more to offer and its arena is more on par with Columbus' two arenas, but I don't see the Republicans going there because Cleveland is, at best, a "Reagan Democrat" city and the Republicans haven't had someone with as much crossover appeal as Reagan had since ... Reagan. Cleveland is hostile territory whereas Metro Columbus is, overall, about neutral maybe with a slight Republican tilt. (I emphasize Metro Columbus which includes the surrounding counties.)

I don't think Cleveland's "attractions" matter much. Very few people are going to be sightseeing. Most of them are going to see the airport, the convention center, their hotel and the drive back and forth and maybe the stuff that immediately surrounds the convention center. In that regard, Columbus tops either Ohio city because what surrounds the convention center is the Arena District and the Short North. The Arena District is going to be impressive to any first-time visitor. Likewise, the Short North gives visitors a flavor of something artsy and different. Plenty of eateries and drinking establishments. The more adventurous types can venture out to the Zoo, to Ohio State, to German Village, Franklin Park, COSI, the Riverfront, the State House or to a Clippers game (right next to the Arena) if they're looking for something to do.

And if people need to kill time, there's always Easton. I'm sure there will be plenty of people staying at both the Easton and Polaris Hiltons. Both are, for what they are, fairly impressive sites for an outsider. The bigshots might take in a round of golf at Muirfield.

Air travel is oversold. The Columbus airport is considered one of the "haves" for a city this size. It's not a hub but you can get there from most places with only one stop at a hub. If you're cheap, you can fly in to Dayton or Akron if you can find better fares. I went to the OSU NC Game in New Orleans through the Dayton and Mobile, AL airports since Columbus flights were so expensive.

Convention centers? Never been to Cleveland and never was a fan of Columbus's convention center. It is butt ugly both inside and out, but it's newer and it does the job.

Don't dismiss Columbus. In my opinion it has far more curb appeal than most cities its size. Especially the parts that delegates are going to see the most of. Namely, the Arena District, the Short North and Easton.

Downtown not having a Casino? Who cares. Republicans don't gamble anyway.

Both Columbus and Cleveland are solid picks for a Democrat convention, though. The casino might be more important to Democrats as they were the ones pushing gambling on Ohio.

I also don't know how much this matters, but the Bush fortune was made here in Columbus at Buckeye Steel. Poppy's grandfather Prescott Bush is buried at Greenlawn Cemetery.