From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] The return of "DC in 2011"
Date: Wed,  1 Apr 2009 19:13:19 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

The withdrawn DC in 2011 Worldcon bid which was originated in 2004 by
Michael Nelson and other WSFA members has been resurrected by PRSFS
with the help of some Fantek people and some former Unicon people.
(Fantek is the group that used to run Evecon and Castlecon.)  As far
as I know, no WSFA members are involved with the bid.

This was inspired by the withdrawal of Seattle's bid for that year.
The consensus is that there should never be an unopposed domestic
Worldcon bid.

The filing deadline has passed, so this will be a write-in campaign.

It's not actually in DC.  It will use several hotels at Tysons Corner,
which together have more than enough sleeping rooms and function
space.  These include the Sheraton Premiere, where the 1994 Disclave
was held, the Marriott where the 2004 Capclave was held, the Hilton
where two Evecons were held in 2000 (one at the very beginning of the
year, the other at the very end), the Best Western on Route 7, the
Ritz-Carlton that's connected to the Galleria, and several other
hotels, most of which have never hosted an SF con before.

The one thing that's missing is a large auditorium suitable for
the Hugo award ceremony, the masquerade, and opening and closing
ceremonies.  The bid committee is negotiating with Wolftrap for
the use of the Filene Center for those events.  It has more than
sufficient capacity.  Shuttle buses would be arranged for.

If the Filene Center deal falls through, another approach would be to
use a small auditorium in one of the hotels and closed-circuit TV to
let people watch from the sleeping rooms in all the convention hotels.
This would have the good side effect of encouraging local fans to pay
for a room rather than commuting.

(At the last PRSFS meeting, I whimsically suggested that a too-small
auditorium is no problem at all, as the fans could simply be told to
get in line early to be sure to get a seat.  When people looked at me
in bafflement, I explained that this was the same sound logic as in
"No Child Left Behind," which proposes to fix the problem of there not
being enough good jobs for everyone by somehow getting most people to
get more educational credentials than most people.  I never understood
how everyone can simultaneously win a game of musical chairs like that,
but I'm not a highly paid government bureaucrat, so what do I know?)

I questioned whether PRSFS should run the bid and the con itself,
rather than through a separate corporation.  But it was explained
to me that PRSFS was at no financial risk, as it has no treasury
and no assets.

One complication is the 800-kilometer rule.  While central DC is
slightly more than 800 kilometers from the front door of the Palais
des congrès de Montréal, the main facility of the Worldcon at which
the site selection vote will take place, central Tysons is slightly
closer, which would make it ineligible.  However, by defining the
Marriott at the south end of Tysons (the Capclave '04 hotel) as
the main convention hotel, the distance is very slightly over 800
kilometers, especially since that hotel's front door is on its
south side.  It is slightly under 500 miles, but when the voting
takes place in a country that uses the metric system, the rule is
800 kilometers, not 500 miles.

This would be the first-ever Worldcon held in Virginia.

Pre-supporting memberships are on sale for $20.11.  They can be bought
at any PRSFS meeting, at Ravencon, or at Balticon.  Pre-supports
already bought for the previous DC in 2011 bid will be honored.