1996 Reform National Convention

Long Beach logistics

The first portion of the convention was held August 10–13^[4] in the Terrace Theater and other portions of the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. It was attended by approximately 1,500 to 2,000 supporters.^[6][7]

The convention featured speeches by both candidates seeking the presidential nomination. It lacked much pomp or circumstance that were standard fittings of the conventions of the conventions of the two major parties. The venue was not adorned with the heaps of bunting that major party conventions were known to adorn their halls with.^[7] Fred Bayles of The Associated Press described the Long Beach Convention Center venue as "a spare ballroom devoid of banners and sky boxes".^[8]

The proceedings were televised by both CNN and C-SPAN.^[7]

The location of Long Beach was selected due to its relatively close proximity to San Diego, California, the location of the 1996 Republican National Convention to be convened the day after the main day of activity for the Long Beach portion of the Reform National Convention. The Long Beach location was approximately 90 miles (140 km) from San Diego. It was hoped that by holding the event at a location near to where mass media were already scheduled to converge for the Republican convention, more media coverage might be granted to the Reform proceedings.^[8]

"Valley Forge" (King of Prussia) logistics

The Valley Forge Convention Center was a 130,000 square feet (12,000 m²) convention facility located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The nominating meeting held there was anticipated to include between 3,000 and 5,000 attendees as well as approximately 400 news media workers. To accommodate media needs, Bell Atlantic installed approximately 200 phone lines for use by reporters to use. The facility's management also added wiring needed for television cameras and fax machines. A stage was errected on the main floor of the facility, with 5,000 seats placed before it. Further seating was added to overflow rooms on the venue's lower floor, with video screens broadcasting the speeches.^[3]

The event at King of Prussia was described to be a largely made-for-television event, to generate media exposure for its ticket.^[2] The location of this half of the convention was frequently referred to as being "Valley Forge".^[3][9] The Reform Party used its location in the so-called "Valley Forge" region of the Philadelphia suburbs to draw positive comparisons between Perot and George Washington, who famously set-up the titular Valley Forge camp during the American Revolutionary War. The party compared Perot's mission to found a new political movement (outside of the two major party's) with George Washington's mission to found a new nation in the Thirteen Colonies.^[4]

Local hospitality industry officials anticipated that the portion held in that locale would inject $1.3 million of spending into the local economy. While much smaller than the economic impact of the two major parties' conventions, this expected spending (as well as national media attention) was lauded by local officials. Local officials also believed that hosting the event would improve the stature of the Valley Forge Convention Center as a venue for major events. To accommodate the event, hundreds of hotel rooms were set aside by local hospitality industry officials for use by convention visitors. Further, local hospitality officials set up information booths for convention visitors. This included a booth specializing in connecting convention guests with dining options in the Philadelphia region. They also organized excursions for convention visitors to tour local attractions.^[3]