Each year, I have a darn good time at WonderCon, a convention staged in San Francisco by most of the same people who run the big Comic-Con in San Diego. It's kind of like Comic-Con Lite with a bit more emphasis on comics as they're conventionally (no pun intended) defined and less — but some — on movies and TV. It drew a little under 40,000 people for its 2011 incarnation, held earlier this year.
One key attraction of WonderCon is its location. It's been held, lo these many years, at the Moscone Center in the heart of that city by the bay. It's a great facility and it's surrounded by places to go, places to eat, things to do, etc. I'd go to WonderCon if it was held in the middle of nowhere but the fact that it's held in the middle of somewhere is a terrific bonus. So here's the problem.
As explained here, the Moscone Center is undergoing a two-year $55-million renovation. As I understand it, the place is not going to close down. There will be conventions there…just fewer of them during that period. At one point, WonderCon was told there would be no room for them in 2012. (Most convention centers book conventions years down the line. For some reason, the Moscone Center doesn't do that. WonderCon has usually been unable to secure playdates more than a year in advance.)
I've heard nothing official about the problem lately. The WonderCon folks began investigating other venues that might be large enough and the rumor spread that they were heading for Anaheim or San Jose. Then last I heard, the Moscone Center was willing to find space for them…but not enough. The dickering continues and I sure hope the affair gets to stay where it's been.
What intrigues me about this is the contrast to the awesome might of the Comic-Con. One of the reasons I believe Comic-Con will not leave San Diego for a long, long time (if ever) is that it is so gosh-darn important to the economy of that city. Back when Comic-Con began, San Diego was a nice place to visit but conventions did not flock there, Hyatt and Marriott did not build there, there were few restaurants of any note, etc. Vast portions of the town were bars and sex shops catering to sailors on shore leave. The biggest — just about the only — tourist attraction was the zoo…and while it's always been a great zoo, it didn't draw that many outta-towners since there are, after all, other zoos. The rise of the Comic-Con turned the entire city around.
The San Diego agency that deals in such matters might play hardball with the Comic-Con over money, leading to those occasional rumblings that the con's moving to L.A., the con's moving to Vegas, etc. Those negotiations are just negotiations…like Democrats and Republicans dancing over who's going to get what before they go ahead and raise the debt ceiling. Neither party wants to risk blowing up what they've got by not making a deal. In the Comic-Con bickering, both sides want to make a deal. The city needs the convention more than the convention needs the city…but they do need each other. On the other hand, WonderCon is not as vital to San Francisco. The Moscone Center was willing to let it get away…and slow to realize that if it went to Anaheim for one year, it might get to like it there and never come back.
Based on no recent inside info, I have a hunch WonderCon will get what it needs to stay in S.F. for 2012. If the Moscone Center sends it packing, I have a feeling they'll regret it. I know I will.