It has to be embarrassing to be a Baltimore City leader this week: Due to the city's continued refusal to come up with a real plan to upgrade or replace Baltimore's aging convention center, a major event has left ("'It's a little bittersweet': Costumed Otakon fans celebrate final convention in Baltimore," Aug. 14).
Otakon, one of the center's biggest yearly events for 17 years, has signed a contract and moved to the Washington, D.C., convention center for at least five years.
Otakon is one of the biggest Japanese culture and anime conventions on the East Coast. That's roughly 30,000 people — including attendees, staff, artists, dealers and guests — who will not be coming to Baltimore over a four-day weekend trip every summer.
It's 30,000 people who will not be shopping at the Inner Harbor, eating in local restaurants, staying in local hotel rooms or parking in downtown garages; who won't be filling their tanks at Baltimore gas stations, visiting local bars, riding the subway or light rail or patronizing food trucks, sidewalk vendors or visiting the National Aquarium, the Science Center or local museums and other places of interest.
I would hate to be one of Baltimore's leaders and have to answer to local businesses why 30,000 of their yearly customers have been driven away by their failure to act.
Kyle Marshall, Baltimore