Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The Democratic National Committee selected Denver to host the party's 2008 national convention, picking a state where Democrats made sweeping gains in this year's midterm elections.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said today the party would meet in Denver to nominate its presidential candidate. The convention is scheduled for Aug. 25- 28, 2008.

``Victories by strong Democratic candidates across the West shows how important the West is, and if we win the West, we will win the presidency,'' Dean said in a conference call with reporters to announce the selection.

Members of Colorado's congressional delegation cheered the announcement.

Senator Ken Salazar, A Democrat, said recent political conventions have been on the east or west coasts, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Boston. Denver last hosted a political convention in 1908. ``We've never really been in the interior of our country,'' Salazar said.

``Denver is a modern, culturally diverse city with a proven track record of hosting major national events,'' said Democratic Representative Diana DeGette, who represents the city.

The Democrats control the governor's office and both houses of the Colorado legislature. Former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter was elected governor Nov. 7, succeeding Republican Bill Owens.

New York a Finalist

New York City, which last hosted the Democrats in 1992 and the Republicans in 2004, was the other finalist. Dean praised New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and said political considerations figured into the decision.

``There is no fault associated with New York City,'' Dean said. ``If we're going to be a national party, we need to get westerners to vote for the Democratic Party on a regular basis.''

Bloomberg said the 2004 Republican convention would have cost the city $85 million had it not been able to raise money privately to cover expenses, and such fundraising has gotten more difficult. ``We are disappointed, but as I've pointed out a number of times, these conventions have gotten very expensive,'' Bloomberg said.

The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

Fundraising Plans

The Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee expects to raise $70 million from corporations and other sources to help stage the convention. Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc., the third-largest U.S. phone company, has pledged $6 million at a time when the Democratic-controlled Congress may considering whether to ban telephone and cable companies from imposing fees on owners of Web sites in exchange for faster access.

``Do you know what I get out of this? I get a great business opportunity,'' said Chuck Ward, Quest's Colorado state president. ``This is a telecommunications intensive event. It is just a great market opportunity for Qwest to deliver our high- quality service.''

Representatives Martin Meehan, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican, said this is an issue they plan to look at as they draft new ethics and campaign finance legislation. Shays and Meehan were the House sponsors of the 2002 law that banned corporate donations to the political parties.

Lobbyists, Parties

Democratic Senators Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and Barack Obama of Illinois have said they will try to amend the ethics measure now being debated in the Senate to ban lobbyists and the organizations that employ them from hosting convention parties honoring members of Congress.

Shays and Meehan said they supported such a ban on lobbyists' activities.

``They could still have a function,'' Shays said. ``They couldn't do it in the name of a member.''

With a population of about 550,000 residents, Denver is the capital and largest city in Colorado. The host committee estimates that the convention may generate $150 million to $200 million in revenue for the city, according to the group's Web site.

Boston Last Time

Boston hosted the Democrats last convention in 2004, the party's first presidential convention held after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The city originally budgeted $10 million for security measures when officials bid to host the convention, a number that increased to $35 million following the attacks to bolster manpower and equipment, according to Julie Burns, former executive director of Boston 2004 Inc.

The Republican National Committee previously announced its choice of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, to host the party's nominating convention Sept. 1-4, 2008.

Three of the 35 cities invited by the DNC to bid on hosting their convention responded with proposals: Denver, New York and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Democrats narrowed the list after Republicans made their decision in September.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nadine Elsibai in Washington at nelsibai@bloomberg.net; Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 11, 2007 16:27 EST