Defying conventional wisdom.

• Position: Charlotte

It didn't take long for the glow of Charlotte winning the 2012 Democratic National Convention to give way to sweat over exactly how the city would pull it off. "The spotlight quickly turned into a heat lamp," jokes Will Miller, acting executive director of Charlotte in 2012.

Now, the committee must raise the private money--about $50 million, Miller says--needed to put on a good show. Unlike many fundraisers in the Queen City, where much of the money often comes from a few wealthy donors, party caps on individual donations will force it to cast a wider net in the region and beyond.

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What the city will get, organizers say, is an economic infusion of at least $150 million and increased visibility. "We're already having some positive impact from meeting planners who are taking a new look at us--now that we've landed this one--for other conventions they might bring to town," says Tim Newman, CEO of Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.

The city also is counting on publicity and goodwill from the convention to inspire business relocations and bring jobs. "Inquiry activity has picked up in our chamber [of commerce]," says Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, "and I think that will only continue as people learn more and more about our city."

Not everyone believes the rosy predictions. Victor Matheson, associate professor of economics at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, co-wrote a 2008 study of conventions and their economic impacts. He says models do a good job of calculating event-related spending but don't account for disruptions of routine spending as locals stay home to avoid the crush of visitors. Attendance at Broadway shows, for example, dropped 20% year-over-year during the week New York City hosted the 2004 Republican National Convention, he says. "If these things really are $150 million, when you look at things like employment and income and retail sales, you should expect these big spikes, and we typically don't see them."

There's also no proof businesses and jobs follow in the wake of conventions, he says. "There may be some residual advertising effect associated with that. The fact that no one has been able to capture it and measure it particularly well suggests that it's probably not very big."

Asked for an example of a convention bringing new...