What are the Democratic National Convention finalist cities?

The Democratic National Committee convention site selection team spent the latter half of July touring each of the four finalist cities and evaluating the potential venues that would host the massive meeting events.

Hosting the convention is a huge victory for a city’s local economy as hotel rooms fill up and restaurants are packed. Chicago’s hotel industry is still recovering from the crash of business that resulted from the pandemic, and while the city’s convention industry is up and running again, it’s falling behind other cities in the race to revive trade shows, corporate meetings and other business gatherings.

“The convention would infuse more than $150 million into our economy, making it a win not just for Chicago but our entire state,” said Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Here’s how the four cities compare:

Chicago

Convention venue: At least some of the convention’s events would be held at the city’s United Center, which plays host to the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks and can seat more than 23,500 attendees. Wintrust Arena, a smaller arena home to the Chicago Sky and the DePaul University Blue Demons, could also host events.

Hotels: There is little doubt that the city has the hotels and other necessities needed to host the gathering. The Central Business District alone has 135 hotels providing more than 43,000 rooms. The city’s hospitality industry would certainly welcome such a gathering, which would help it further recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Political climate: City and state leaders acted with at least somewhat unusual unity when they first made their pitch to host the convention. Then a nasty fight over who would chair the Democratic Party of Illinois threatened to badly mar the bid, eventually leading U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly to announce she would not seek re-election to the post. Plus, Pritzker would really like to have the event here, perhaps because he’s interested in a relevant promotion if President Joe Biden chooses to forgo a re-election race.

Past conventions: Chicago is historically the country’s most popular place to nominate presidential candidates, having welcomed 14 Republican and 11 Democratic conventions since 1860. The city hosted one of the most notable conventions in 1968 when tens of thousands of Vietnam War protestors swarmed the city’s streets. The city last welcomed the DNC in 1996 when the party nominated Bill Clinton at the United Center.

New York City

Convention venue: Unlike the failed push in 2016 to host a convention at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the city’s 2024 bid has centered on Madison Square Garden, with its 20,000 seating capacity, and the Javits Center, which spans 3.3 million square feet, which would allow the entire convention to take place within a 20-minute walk.

Hotels: The city’s hotel industry is more than equipped to host the convention’s guests, especially with many of the area’s hotels that will either be new or renovated by 2024. These include TSX Broadway in Times Square, the Hard Rock Hotel on West 48th Street, and more than 300 rooms in the new Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue. “We have concentric, small geographic areas and some of the best hotels in the country, if not the world, that have meeting spaces and theaters right along the Madison Square Garden area,” said Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the Hotel Association for New York City.

With 20,000 rooms still closed at more than 100 hotels, Dandapani noted that hosting the DNC would underscore the point that New York is open and ready for business.

Political climate: Both the city and state are run by Democratic leaders, and the city council and state legislature lean blue. Democratic officials from Mayor Eric Adams to U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer are in lockstep with their support for the bid. “I am proud to partner with Mayor Adams and my colleagues in city, state and federal government to launch this bid and will continue working diligently to make this proposal a reality,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Past conventions: New York most recently hosted the Republican National Convention in 2004, when George W. Bush was the incumbent. The city hasn’t hosted the Democratic National Convention since 1992, when Bill Clinton and Al Gore were on the ticket. New York’s first convention dates back to 1868, when it first hosted the Democrats at Tammany Hall.

Atlanta

Convention venue: An Atlanta convention would largely take place inside the State Farm Arena, the home stadium for the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Dream. Located in the city’s downtown area, the arena typically seats 21,000 people and offers 88 luxury suites for VIP attendees. The stadium doubled as a polling station in 2020, with more than 50,000 Georgians casting ballots at the arena.

Hotels: The availability and affordability of hotel rooms in Atlanta gives the city an edge over its rival contenders. The many hotels adjacent to the arena make it so two-thirds of the needed rooms for convention participants would be within a mile of the venue, according to Axios Atlanta.

Political climate: Georgia is traditionally thought of as a red state but went for Joe Biden and sent two Democrats to the U.S. Senate in 2020. As the committee makes its selection, Democratic voting rights activist Stacey Abrams will be challenging incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp in a rematch of the 2018 election. It’s an uphill battle for Abrams, and a Kemp victory would put an Atlanta-based convention in a state controlled largely by Republicans.

Past conventions: The last—and only—time Atlanta hosted a political party’s convention was in 1988 when the Democrats gathered at the Omni Coliseum to nominate former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis for president. The 1988 Atlanta convention was also when the party added language to its platform stating that “the fundamental right of reproductive choice should be guaranteed regardless of ability to pay.”

Houston

Convention venue: A DNC in Houston would likely take place at the George R. Brown Convention Center, which spans 1.8 million square feet in the city’s downtown area. NRG stadium, the 72,000 seat indoor arena where the Houston Texans play, is also a potential venue.

Hotels: Houston boasts the lowest average hotel room cost among the four finalist cities. Hotels in the city are getting better, too: It’s the country’s largest market with the most hotels currently undergoing renovations and conversions, most of which would likely be completed by the time of the convention.

Political climate: The Democrats would love to turn Texas blue in 2024, just as they would’ve loved to turn it blue in 2020, in 2016 and in every other election since the state last sent its electoral college votes to a Democrat in 1976. Biden picked up 46.5% of the vote in 2020, far from reaching distance but the closest Democrats have been in decades. This fall, former congressman Beto O’Rourke is hoping to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott, a challenge that’s only grown tighter since the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Past conventions: Houston narrowly lost to Milwaukee in its bid to host the 2020 Democratic Convention. The city welcomed the RNC to the Astrodome in 1992 and the DNC in 1928.