WASHINGTON (CNN) — Philadelphia will host the Democratic National Convention in July 2016, a source with knowledge of the selection process tells CNN.
The Democratic National Committee confirmed Philadelphia’s selection Thursday morning, shortly after the news broke, using a Facebook video of chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz pulling a cheesesteak out of a refrigerator to announce the decision.
New York and Columbus, Ohio, were the two other cities vying for the right to host the Democratic convention. The event is scheduled for the week of July 25, 2016.
Democrats’ decision to nominate the party’s presidential nominee in Philadelphia is a major win for former Gov. Ed Rendell, who had been spearheading efforts to convince Democrats to choose the city he once led. Rendell served as Philadelphia mayor from 1992 to 2000.
The Republican Party previously announced it would hold its presidential nominating convention the week of July 18, 2016, in Cleveland.
The last time Philadelphia hosted a presidential convention was in 2000, when Republicans chose then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush as the party’s nominee.
Presidential conventions are expensive endeavors for cities, which are expected to shoulder more than $60 million in costs to stage the event. But the payout could be triple that investment or more. DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told local officials last year that past presidential conventions “have injected approximately $150 million to $200 million directly into the host city’s economy.”
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn told CNN that his city, which hosted the 2012 Republican National Convention, experienced a short term economic impact “well beyond $200 million” And he added the “longer term impact for Tampa and the residual effect in tourism and convention business will be significant.”
