Will Al Gore Ruin Comic-Con?
As thousands of hapless Comic-Con attendees discovered yesterday when they tried to register for their hotels, one of the biggest San Diego hotels, and one of the closest to the San Diego Convention Center, has pulled out of Comic-Con. The bayfront Manchester Grand Hyatt will not participate in this year's Nerd Prom. The reason? Well, it has something to do with environmental activist and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. And it could be the beginning of the end for Comic-Con as we know it. More info after the jump.
According to The Beat, the Hyatt will, instead of Comic-Con, host the 2010 AHA Health Forum Leadership Summit, the guest list for which includes Newt Gingrich, DeeDee Myers, Ken Burns and Freakonomics author Steven D. Levitt, as well as Gore.
Needless to say, this has created much more than mere frustration that a popular, geographically desirable hotel had pulled out of the mix, it's also a harbinger of Much Worse Things to Come, when, in July, gridlock traffic will flood the streets of San Diego's Gaslamp District, along with dramatically increased crowds (as all of this year's sure-to-be-record-high number of Comic-Con attendees combines with the full occupancy of the Grand Hyatt, with its AHA Leadership people).
For years, people have complained that Comic-Con has outgrown San Diego, as the convention that began in a nearby hotel's basement swelled to take over every room and hall of the convention center. Now, with increased overcrowding making the situation significantly worse, Comic-Con could be forced to abandon San Diego, and head north for Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
As longtime attendees of Comic-Con, some of us will be disappointed to see Comic-Con leave the still quaint Gaslamp District, with its almost New Orleans French Quarter feel. But some of us are hoping for the excitement of Vegas to join with that of Nerd Prom. The saga continues...
