Conventional thought

Democratic gathering could - or could not - be a boon, some in Boston say

M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 4, 2006 at midnight

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Some folks are sounding an alarm for Denver in the historic streets of north Boston.

The Democrats are coming! The Democrats are coming! (Maybe.)

If Denver does win a bidding contest to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the financial windfall might not be all it's cracked up to be, according to skeptics in the city that hosted the event in 2004.

Some academics and business people in Boston urge caution, based on their experience with the event that gave Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry a home-state coming-out party.

The Mile High City is bidding to host the 2008 convention based in part on projections that the 2004 event pumped $150 million to $163 million into the economy of greater Boston.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino calls the convention a rousing civic success and economic triumph.

But doubters remain.

Boston business operators give mixed reviews, and a local "free-market" think tank called the mayor's economic impact figures exaggerated and says the real net gain was $14.8 million - about one-tenth of what boosters predicted.

The skeptical report by The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University has been the subject of fierce debate since it was released in 2004.

The institute arrived at the lower figure after factoring in an estimated loss of $30 million in normal commuter and summer tourist spending, combined with the loss of more than $100 million from two events that were scrapped to make way for Democrats: the Olympic gymnastics trials and a harbor festival.

Critics have accused the institute of having a right-leaning bias that caused it to intentionally underestimate the benefits of a Democratic gathering. The institute defends its methodology.

Still, the varying estimates and lingering debate should make Denver wary, said the group's director of communications, Frank Conte.

"If people in Denver are telling you this is going to be an economic windfall, I'd run for cover," Conte said.

"What convention boosters always say is you have to have a convention because it showcases the city and all the benefits are intangible," he said. "Call them intangible then."

Choice of city looming

Within days, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is expected to decide between the two remaining contenders for 2008: Denver and New York.

New York offers experience and infrastructure. It is used to hosting major events and handling influxes of thousands of conventioneers.

Denver offers Democrats a gateway into the Rocky Mountain West. The party hopes to build on recent gains in the region and swipe at least a few electoral votes from Republicans.

Denver hasn't hosted a Democratic National Convention since William Jennings Bryan's nominating event in 1908 - the year the Chicago Cubs won baseball's World Series.

Hosting the convention would give Denver exposure on a Super Bowl scale and put the city on the international map - if only for a week. Those could be priceless benefits.

But meanwhile, security measures and traffic could bring everyday life to a standstill in portions of the city and there likely would be both winners and losers, Boston veterans say.

The 2004 event was held at Boston's FleetCenter, a multipurpose sports arena within a short walk of the North End business district.

Some businesses report doing well, including restaurants that landed lucrative events for well- heeled delegates.

"It was a good thing. There were just so many people in town, so even though we were going through a major road renovation, we still did a lot of business," said Andrea Procopio, manager of Ernesto's Pizzeria on Salem Street. " . . . If you have a business that is in maybe a two-mile radius of the convention center, you'll probably do well."

Not necessarily, said other North End business operators.

"It crippled us because the city came to a standstill because of security issues," said Lisa Cirace, who runs V. Cirace & Sons liquors, less than a mile from the event center.

Because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Secret Service clamped down on traffic in and out of the neighborhood, she said. Regular customers couldn't reach the businesses or heeded warnings and stayed home.

"We couldn't get to hotels for deliveries and all the business was being done in restaurants," she said.

A common complaint

Cirace's recollections were echoed by others. One common complaint was that delegates had little reason to spend money in the neighborhood because they were treated to events at hotels, restaurants and official venues.

Vendors who catered those events benefited, Conte said, but "little of that spending by delegates takes place outside the confines of the convention hall."

Although The Beacon Hill Institute's post-convention report did cite a "painful" effect on some local businesses, the final conclusion was that there was a net benefit for Boston.

"On balance, the effect of the convention turns out to be positive (if small) because the lost spending by commuters and tourists . . . was less harmful than the benefits from the new spending brought by the convention," the report concluded.

Just to be considered for the convention, Denver has had to resolve a longstanding labor issue so that some hotel workers can have union representation. Because of the Democratic Party's alliances with organized labor, it could be problematic if any other issues are left lingering.

In Boston, police officers pushed for a new collective bargaining agreement right up to the final days before the 2004 convention. At the eleventh hour, an arbitrator stepped in, but critics say the deal saddled the city with higher, long-term costs.

"Buying the labor peace was very expensive," Conte said. "I hope Denver takes care of all its collective bargaining agreements way before the convention arrives. Otherwise, labor leaders could use that to hold the city over a barrel."

Two years after the last balloons popped, some Boston locals have mostly good memories of the 2004 convention.

Merchant Resource Group, which sells gift cards for fine-dining restaurants, saw business jump 24 percent with the convention, said company president Peter Damato.

"All in all, it was very beneficial to the community," Damato said. "And I think you'll find Boston is always bidding for the DNC. We'd do it every year if we could."

Back at Ernesto's Pizzeria, Procopio offers some advice if the next convention lands in Denver: "Just have fun."

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