Salazar: Denver’s Chances 50-50 for Dem Convention

New York City has the money. The Denver Host Committee doesn’t. That’s why Denver’s bid for the 2008 Democratic National Convention is in trouble, according to Senator Ken Salazar who spoke to DNC chair, Howard Dean Thursday.

“Governor Dean would like it here in Colorado, but can Colorado do it without a hitch?” Salazar said in a 9KUSA news interview. “We have to convince him.”Salazar and Dean had a 30-minute conversation about Denver’s bid and afterwards, Salazar put Denver’s chances at “50-50.” Salazar felt Dean’s questions were legitimate about Denver’s capability to host such a huge event without a problem. “It’s our belief that we can and our job here in Colorado is to convince him we can do this,” he said.

Denver Mayor, John Hickenlooper said Denver can host tens of thousands of visitors on busy sports nights. He noted for some events, Denver has had up to 140,000 visitors. Salazar pointed out that when the pope visited in 1993, a half million people came and there were no security problems.

Dean was expected to make his decision last month between New York City and Denver, but had delayed his decision until supposedly this weekend. However, Dean is not under a particular deadline and could defer his selection of the convention site to a later date. Any further postponement of an announcement would work in Denver’s favor, giving the Host Committee more time to fundraise.

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