SAN FRANCISCO IN 2002

A Committee of San Francisco Science Fiction  Conventions, Inc.
PO Box 61363 Sunnyvale CA 94088-1363 USA
info@sfsfc.org http://www.sfsfc.org

FOR RELEASE THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 1999

11:00 AM  PACIFIC STANDARD TIME

Contact: Kevin Standlee <standlee@sfsfc.org>

 BAY AREA GROUP TO BID ONLY FOR SAN JOSE  WORLDCON;

SAN FRANCISCO BID WITHDRAWN

The Bay Area in 2002 Worldcon Bid Committee  has withdrawn their bid for San Francisco, leaving only the bid for San Jose, California.  The Bay Area group filed both  bids earlier this year, planning to give voters the  opportunity to choose between them; however, the Argent Hotel, planned as San  Francisco's headquarters facility, has  recently booked another group into the space,  making the San Francisco site impractical.

Earlier this year, the Bay Area in 2002 Bid Committee  announced that the hotel they  originally planned to use as their headquarters, the San  Francisco Marriott, had withdrawn from negotiations with the committee and would not be  available. Bay Area in  2002 put together an alternate proposal centered on the Argent  (formerly ANA) Hotel, one of the 1993 Worldcon hotels. In the meantime, the San Jose  Convention & Visitors'  Bureau presented the Bay Area committee with an attractive  proposal centered on San Jose. The Bay Area committee decided to let the site selection  voters make the decision,  and filed both bids with Aussiecon Three, the Worldcon  administering the election.

On June 14, the Argent informed the Bay Area bid hotel  liaison, Michael Siladi, that they  had given the necessary space in the hotel to another  group that was able to make a firm commitment now. The convention bid chair, Kevin  Standlee, after meeting with members  of the committee, determined that, without the  Argent, the Bay Area in 2002 bid would be unable to put together a workable San Francisco  proposal.

"It was a hard decision for us", said Standlee.  "We originally promised fandom a Worldcon in San Francisco, and we very much wanted  to deliver on that promise if that  was what people wanted, but we had to consider the  viabilty of the site. Without the either the Marriott or the Argent, we simply didn't  have enough hotel rooms within easy  walking distance of the San Francisco Moscone  Convention Center. Meanwhile, we had a very promising alternative in San Jose. It is a  good site, and the local hotels and  convention center are very eager to have our  business."

The Bay Area in 2002 Committee now is concentrating all of  its attention on the San Jose  bid. The site centered on the San Jose facility includes  approximately 1500 hotel rooms within about 300 meters/1000 feet of the San Jose  Convention Center. In addition, the  San Jose facilities are less expensive to rent,  include less-expensive parking, and are adjacent to a 24-hour-per-day light rail system  that connects the Convention Center to more than 1000 additional hotel rooms.

San Jose is less than 50 miles from San Francisco. Two  freeways and a regular rail service run directly between "The Heart of Silicon  Valley" and "The City by the Bay."  Travel time between the two cities is  between 60 and 90 minutes. Even if the Worldcon is in San Jose, fans wishing to visit  Alcatraz or Fisherman's Wharf would still be able to do so.

Memberships in Bay Area in 2002 remain valid for the San  Jose site, even if they were purchased when the bid was only for a San Francisco site.

Members of Aussiecon Three, the 1999 Worldcon, will vote  on the site of the 2002 Worldcon. Aussiecon Three will issue site-selection ballots soon.  You must be an  attending or supporting member of Aussiecon Three to vote. You need not  actually attend Aussiecon Three to vote, because you can vote by mail, or give your ballot  to someone else to carry to Australia for you.

The bid will post additional information  on their web site, http://www.sfsfc.org/worldcon/, as it becomes  available. Representatives of the bids plan to be at Midwestcon, Westercon, Conucopia, and  Aussiecon Three to answer  questions. Fans may also send questions to the bid via  electronic mail at info@sfsfc.org, or by ordinary mail to PO Box 61363,  Sunnyvale CA 94088-1363 USA.

The Bay Area in 2002 Bid plans to release  more information about the San Jose site in  Progress Report -1, scheduled for publication  as soon as Aussiecon Three produces the site selection ballot, probably in early July.  This progress report will be sent to all of the bid's registered supporters.

San Francisco in 2002, a committee of San  Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. (the parent corporation of ConFrancisco, the  1993 Worldcon) is bidding for the right to  host the 2002 Worldcon. Members of Aussiecon  Three, the 1999 Worldcon in Melbourne, Australia, will vote to choose the site of the 2002  Worldcon.

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