This Saturday, the Democratic Convention in Denver will be 100 days away. How big an affair will it be? Reading this DNCC press release today, it’s hard not to start getting excited:

  • Nearly 200,000 square feet of media space has been allocated. Initial plans are complete for the media pavilions located outside the Pepsi Center that will provide workspace for many of the nearly 15,000 members of the media expected to attend the Convention.
  • Space has been allocated for more than 100 production trucks, media workspace trailers and broadcast transmission vehicles.
  • 17,000 hotel rooms in the Denver metro area are reserved….Meeting space reserved at 100+ hotels and the Colorado Convention Center
  • 250 buses planned for daily transport between official Convention hotels and the Pepsi Center….400 motorpool vehicles provided by General Motors…100% of buses and motorpool vehicles are flex fuel, hybrids or run on biofuel.
  • 21,000 volunteers have stepped forward to help ensure a successful Convention
  • Live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Convention will be provided in HD at DemConvention.com.
  • 900 “Green Team” volunteers from the Host Committee volunteer pool will be on hand during Convention week to assist with our comprehensive recycling, composting and waste minimization program.

The convention is expected to be a big boon to Denver:

The Democratic National Convention, held from August 25-28, 2008, is expected to pump an estimated $160 million into the Denver area’s economy and draw up to 50,000 visitors to the region.

Before Denver was selected as the Convention site, there was a lot of talk about whether holding it would be a boon or a nightmare for the city. Given the intense national interest in the presidential nomination race this year and the registration of hundreds of thousands of new Democrats, I think the convention will be a huge benefit to Denver, both financially and image-wise.