DENVER – Denver tourism officials say hosting the 2016 Republican convention would be a boon to the city but scheduling could be an issue.
Colorado GOP officials said this week they plan to make a bid for the convention.
Richard Scharf, executive director of the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, told The Denver Post Thursday the convention could compete with sporting events and other tourism if it’s held in June or July.
Conventions have traditionally been held later, but an earlier nomination could give the candidate access to campaign money sooner.
The Pepsi Center would likely be the site of the convention, and Scharf says the arena could have hockey and basketball playoffs in late June.
The Pepsi Center is where the Democratic Party formally nominated Barack Obama in 2008.
Republican National Committee officials want to move up the convention to late June 2016 or early July so the candidate can tap general-election funds earlier than Labor Day, which is usually the week of the nominating conventions.
Those late-June and early-July weeks are already Denver’s busiest time for hotel bookings and tourism.
The Pepsi Center, which presumably the convention would need to hold the nightly gatherings, also navigates a busier late-June schedule with hockey and basketball playoffs, said Scharf.
Scharf was hopeful that a bid would work out because “whenever you have a national or international spotlight on the city, it’s a positive,” he said.
Through a spokesman, Gov. John Hickenlooper, who was instrumental in orchestrating the 2008 Democratic convention when he was Denver’s mayor, said he would be “open to hearing more details when available.”