SciFiCons.com News


August 11, 2013

News for Otakon 2013:

Otakon to move to Washington DC in 2017

by Patrick Delahanty, Senior Editor

Otakon, which celebrated its 20th year this past weekend, has announced that they will be moving to Washington, DC in 2017 for a period of at least five years.

Although it was first held in Pennsylvania in 1994, Otakon has been held in Baltimore every summer since 1999 and is one of Baltimore's few city-wide events with an attendance of over 32,000 people. In their press release, Otakon states "The Baltimore Convention Center has not aged gracefully and there are proposals to replace both the BCC and the Arena over the next five years. Any upgrades would require at least a temporary move and would result in disruptive changes in our facilities regardless of the final outcome."

Bids were evaluated from both Baltimore and Washington, DC. In June, the organization's bidding members selected DC as the best option. Otakon 2017 will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Specific dates have yet to be announced.