Two large hotels in Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center complex attend the Democratic National Convention with staff and media in what could be a major step forward in city hotel recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. was selected as the base of
The Democratic National Convention Committee announced Tuesday that the city-owned Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and Marriott Marquis Chicago hotels, which have a combined 2,463 rooms, will be closed from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22, when President Joe Biden will host It was announced that it will function as an activity base during the event period. He is expected to be renominated.
The event will be held at McCormick Place, the largest convention center in North America, and the United Center Arena, home of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.
Based on past presidential nominating conventions, this summer’s DNC could deliver the highest August revenue for Chicago hotels in more than a decade, according to a KoStar analysis.
“We are proud to partner with these major hotels and the unions that are empowering them to make McCormick Place their home for convention week,” DNCC Executive Director Alex Hornbrook said in a statement. I think so.”
The convention, which is expected to draw up to 7,000 delegates and up to 50,000 total visitors, has the potential to boost Chicago’s hotel market, which has been slower to recover from the pandemic than many other cities. One reason for this is Chicago’s high dependence on the hospitality industry. About the large-scale event at McCormick Place.
McCormick Center complex and Navy Pier attractions include: Owned by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority.
The 41-story Marriott Marquis Chicago, located at 2121 S. Prairie Ave., has 1,205 rooms. The 33-story Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, located at 2233 S. Martin Luther King Drive, has 1,258 guest rooms.
“We are honored and excited that Campus Hotel will serve as the headquarters for the 2024 Democratic National Convention,” Larita Clark, CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, said in a statement. ” he said. “Along with our 23 union partners and nearly 3,000 campus employees, we welcome the Democratic National Committee to McCormick Place. We look forward to a great event.”
The Republican National Convention is scheduled for July 15-18 in another Midwestern city, Milwaukee.
This year’s DNC will be the 26th major political nominating event to be held in Chicago, but the first since the Democratic Party nominated President Bill Clinton in 1996.
Historically significant conventions held in Chicago include the election of Abraham Lincoln as the Republican presidential candidate in 1860 at a convention facility known as the Wigwam. The structure at Lake Street and Wacker Drive burned down in 1869, four years after Lincoln’s assassination and two years before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Another memorable convention was the 1968 DNC, when Vice President Hubert Humphrey became the presidential candidate in the emotional aftermath of the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.
Humphrey survived a chaotic week in which bloody clashes between police and Vietnam War protesters led then-Mayor Richard J. Daley to call in the National Guard. Protest organizers then appeared in court for the infamous “Chicago Seven” trial.
Humphrey lost the presidential election to Republican Richard Nixon. The arena where the tournament was held, the International Amphitheater adjacent to the Union Stockyards on the south side, was demolished in 1999.
Other presidents nominated or renominated in Chicago were Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Franklin Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower.