Dem Convention At The Pepsi Center: A No Coke Zone

Oh, the sacrifices of corporate sponsorship. The Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Center is officially a no Coke zone.

After Tuesday's festivities, a senior official helping to organize the convention shared an amusing anecdote: earlier in the day, volunteers who had been provided box lunches and soft drinks were prevented from entering the arena due to a rule banning outside food and drink.

Convention staff were upset; the vending operations at the arena weren't running and the volunteers needed something to eat during the day. So reps from the Pepsi Center were consulted and a rule was set: the volunteers could bring their lunches, with one exception -- absolutely no Coca Cola products would be permitted inside the Center.

Comments

[layman]

Was the Pepsi center provided free of charge for the Dems' use ???

[JohnFromCensornati]

I would bring my Coke in a bag.

[MilesTone]

You may want to clarify what you mean here. Hahahaha.

[JohnFromCensornati]

Seems it was clear enough!

[bronceye]

Cheebergie, cheebergie, no coke, just pepsi.

[AggravationKills]

exactly what I was thinking..­...

[InternationalObserver]

Sheesh. Get a grip people. It's called the Pepsi Centre. Pepsi paid a lot of money so that the people of Denver would pay less for their Convention Centre. If you know anything about marketing you'd know that if they hadn't made this ruling Coke would have been down there in a flash with their big red trucks handing out cartons of well marked product - and a camera crew to record the whole thing and make sure it gets on the evening news as one of those 'lighter' items that networks love to close their bulletins with.

Somewhere in Atlanta at Coke HQ a PR team is debating whether to send the trucks in anyway...

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

why do you think this article was posted!? It's Coke marketing!

[BearsLeft]

The Pepsi Center is owned by Kroenke Sports Enterprises, not the City of Denver.

Stan Kroenke is a staunch Republican who married a Walton daughter and her Wal-Mart billions. He is not interested in making it any easier for the DNC than he has to.

[midknightryder13]

Actually, the REAL "Colorado Convention Center Complex" is about a mile to the south of Pepsi Center. And while it's plenty large enough to hold the convention -- my guess is PC was easier to 'convert' to accomodate the media. PC is a sports arena (home to the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche).

Further, the CCCC is in downtown Denver proper, while PC is on the edge. The powers that be have already closed one of the main traffic arteries for security reasons (except for the morning commute) -- it would be a logistical NIGHTMARE to do that at the CCCC. No fewer than FIVE streets would have to be shut down.

Another example, a couple of the light rail lines END at PC, but at least FOUR of the GO THROUGH the CCCC -- a station was added when they expanded it. Re-routing those trains would be impossible.

And so on.

[midknightryder13]

Oh come now, people -- you are surprised that at a place called PEPSI Center (the correct way of referring to it is without a "the", btw), they say you can't bring in products from their chief rival? Please. (A suggestion, if you don't like Pepsi -- try RC Cola. It's what I drank during the new Coke debacle.)

[JScott]

I think in taste tests RC Cola beat both Pepsi and Coca Cola.

And cola drinking aficinados, they seek out SUGAR sweetened varieties-from latin america-latino markets and available in areas with large jewish communities during passover.

[NoPCZone]

Republicanism comes to the DNC. I wouldn't drink Pepsi or Diet Pepsi if I was dying of thirst. Not only do I dislike Pepsi's products- I dislike their marketing even more.

[LORISNJ]

While I am a Diet Pepsi person, I would think that the Democratic Party is an all inclusive party and should not discriminate against any drink, food, religion, ethnicity, or person!

[Chillinout]

It wasn't the Democratic Party that did this. They had nothing to do with it.

It is the Pepsi Center and those that run it that did it. Not everything is the Dems fault you know.

[JohnFromCensornati]

It's Bush's fault.

[livesimply]

Wow. Another fine example of corporate control of our lives.

[avalanch112]

ITS THE PEPSI CENTER!!!! of course there not going to want there competetors product in their building.

[JohnFromCensornati]

It's *not* their building. They own the name.

[66rock]

As a democrat, I'm disappointed that I couldn't be in Denver for all this But I feel better now knowing this
as I have to have my Coca Cola. It 's America's drink.

O/B08

[robinhood1]

The Democratic Convention is one long informercial. Ditto for the Republican convention next week.

[JohnFromCensornati]

Pepsi is the new Kool-Aid.