Baltimore Business Journal

Organizers of the Star Wars Celebration V rejected the city because its convention center doesn’t have enough room, said Tom Noonan, who heads the city tourist bureau. The four-day gathering could have attracted 35,000 visitors and filled 12,000 hotel room nights — a larger impact than any convention the city currently hosts.

That doesn’t factor in the media attention a Star Wars convention draws. Like Star Trek, fans of the George Lucas films are passionate about everything Star Wars.

Fanfest-type conventions are huge draws for tourists. Baltimore’s largest convention, Otakon, last year brought in $27 million in spending and 26,300 fans of Japanese animé.