All most cities need is a dozen Worldcon-running-level fans.
That is exactly the argument I made in 2004 when I tried to talk the Montrealers to withdraw their bid. But what they said was that they didn't need a local fan community to run a Worldcon. I feel that 2009, between Nippon and probably Australia, is the wrong year to try to have a non-US Worldcon in a city that is expensive to stay in and expensive to fly to, and I don't think Canadian fandom is ready to work on another Worldcon, which is why Canadian fandom is not strongly represented on the Montreal bid. Montreal in particular can barely organize a local convention for 300 members (which was cancelled in 2005 for lack of interest).
Usually people ignore my opinions until after the facts become obvious, and then people say "oh that's what he was talking about."
But like people say about government, fandom gets the Worldcons it deserves.
Kansas City runs a great local SF convention run by an active local fan community, and several other events. It's inexpensive to get to. Kansas City is also not just Kansas City; it draws in folks from across the central Midwest and upper South. That is a function of how connected their group is, not geography; St. Louis fandom, for example, doesn't have those connections.
I extremely doubt that the NASFiC is going to make much difference. The Archon crew has pretty much ignored marketing to travelling fandom, who are a key segment of Worldcon voters.
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That is exactly the argument I made in 2004 when I tried to talk the Montrealers to withdraw their bid. But what they said was that they didn't need a local fan community to run a Worldcon. I feel that 2009, between Nippon and probably Australia, is the wrong year to try to have a non-US Worldcon in a city that is expensive to stay in and expensive to fly to, and I don't think Canadian fandom is ready to work on another Worldcon, which is why Canadian fandom is not strongly represented on the Montreal bid. Montreal in particular can barely organize a local convention for 300 members (which was cancelled in 2005 for lack of interest).
Usually people ignore my opinions until after the facts become obvious, and then people say "oh that's what he was talking about."
But like people say about government, fandom gets the Worldcons it deserves.
Kansas City runs a great local SF convention run by an active local fan community, and several other events. It's inexpensive to get to. Kansas City is also not just Kansas City; it draws in folks from across the central Midwest and upper South. That is a function of how connected their group is, not geography; St. Louis fandom, for example, doesn't have those connections.
I extremely doubt that the NASFiC is going to make much difference. The Archon crew has pretty much ignored marketing to travelling fandom, who are a key segment of Worldcon voters.