Pitching Dallas: We’ll Be Awesome In 20 Years Or So!

Our Fearless City Leaders were in DC this morning, trying to drum up convention business and such. A report from a D.C.-based reporter:

It was basically a sales pitch to DC-based associations who might have trade shows or meetings or whatever to bring to Dallas in future years. It was promised that the mayor and the CEO of the Dallas CVB would discuss, “what’s hot for visitors in Dallas right now.”

I didn’t hear that. I heard the mayor talk about all kinds of stuff that will EVENTUALLY be hot. The Trinity. The arts district expansion. The park on Woodall. The convention center hotel. But, as you know, there’s a lot of stuff that has to be done on all of those projects — not the least of which is getting the convention center thing approved and the Trinity financed (which the Mayor acknowledged) before any of those things are ACTUALLY “hot.” Still, that’s sales, right? So, whatever.

The most interesting part to me was that, at my table, most of the pre-speech conversation was about DC. In part this was because most of the people at the table live in DC, including the two — TWO! — people who live in DC and work on behalf of the Dallas CVB here. So, we talked running trails and parks and the river and so on. You know, stuff Dallas would like more of. At one point, one of the CVB people said the Trinity would someday be like the Potomac. Then, he rethought and said, Dallas would actually be like San Diego and the Trinity would be like the ocean. He may have been kidding. I couldn’t tell.

Our breakfast conversation ended with a mention of chicken fried steak. There were a lot of “mmms” going around. Because, I can tell you for a fact: You can’t find chicken-fried steak in DC.