Birmingham Opts Not To Bid On 2020 DNC

BIRMINGHAM, AL - After some consideration, the city of Birmingham will not bid to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Birmingham had been asked back in April by the Democratic National Committee to throw the city's name in the hat to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The city submitted an unsuccessful bid to host the convention in 2016, a bid that was criticized by many people for being fiscally irresponsible, considering the $275,000 cost of the bid and Birmingham's lack of infrastructure at the time to support the convention.

When the city made the bid for the 2016 DNC, one of the biggest hurdles for Birmingham, according to experts, was the number of hotels in the direct vicinity of the city center. Since that time, multiple additional hotels have been added and more are in the works., but Mayor Randall Woodfin said the city was not ready to bid for the 2020 convention despite the progress it has made since 2014.

More on Birmingham's invitation by the committee:

Birmingham May Apply To Host 2020 Democratic National Convention

Woodfin released a statement Wednesday citing "the huge amount of resources needed to prepare the city to be competitive in the selection process" as the main reason a proposal will not be submitted.

"We were honored to receive the encouragement from Chairman Tom Perez and Deputy Chairman Rep. Keith Ellison to submit a proposal for Birmingham to host the DNC in 2020," Woodfin said. "After a closer look, we recognized the huge amount of resources needed to prepare the city to be competitive in the selection process, and successful if we were to be selected as the host. At this time, we have determined that we must keep our focus first and foremost on our priorities to the people of Birmingham through neighborhood revitalization, workforce development and business growth."

Photo by Michael Seale/Patch

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