Anaheim Comic-Con?

With fanboys and fangirls alike already preparing themselves for the BIG convention of the year in July, word has come out that Anaheim has officially thrown its hat into the ring for hosting what is known now as the San Diego Comic-Con, come 2013. The 40 year old event has become THE place for film studios, TV networks and comic publishers to showcase their upcoming projects each and every year. Word has come from the San Diego Union-Tribune that the convention might leave its longtime base for greener pastures after its contract expires with the San Diego Convention Center in 2012.

Anaheim isn’t the only city looking to host the convention.  Both Las Vegas and Los Angeles are trying to lure the show also.  All three cities are citing larger convention space and more hotel rooms as incentives for the move. As anyone who has gone to the show over the past few years can attest, the convention has been bursting at the seams for quite a while. The convention’s present home at the San Diego Convention Center can only hold 125,000 over the convention’s long weekend.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the city of San Diego will not give the convention up without a fight.  Hotels around the convention center have offered up 300,000 feet of convention space free of charge. That worked out well enough last year when the Hilton Bayfront Hotel offered up space for the Twilight: New Moon press conference.  Also, the number of hotel rooms offered for the show could double to 14,000. Those who are going to the  show this July can already tell you that securing a hotel room NOW for a convention that is still about 5 months away is a very trying experience.

Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer has stated that the convention has been straining with the limits of its current home, and they are considering whether the new San Diego proposal will calm their concerns for the future.

“We love San Diego. The majority of the people who put the show on live here,” said Glanzer. “But we have to make a decision that’s based on what really is best for the event.”

A decision from the Comic-Con Board is expected in a few weeks. For this convention which focuses so much on genre entertainment, and where the bulk of projects being showcased at the convention over the past few years have been reboots of older successful films and TV franchises… maybe it is time for the San Diego Comic-Con to reboot and reinvent itself in another city.