Posted on 07/08/2014 9:07:07 AM PDT by chrisser
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Capping off a months-long lobbying effort, Cleveland will be the host of the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus announced Cleveland as the location on the Fox News Channel in a live, on-air interview. The interview was immediately preceded by a tweet, which has since been deleted, from a spokesman for the Republican Governors Association.
"We're excited about bringing the convention to Cleveland in Ohio, and we're excited about the decision. We think it's a smart decision," Priebus said.
Cleveland edged out Dallas, the other finalist, as the recommended location for the convention, giving the city an opportunity to strut its stuff to a national crowd while placing Ohio even more firmly in the political spotlight for the upcoming presidential election.
"I think it's great," said Rob Frost, the Cuyahoga County Republican Party Chairman. "I'm really excited to welcome our Republican colleagues from around the nation to Cleveland in 2016. I think this convention will really elevate Cleveland in the eyes of the nation, and elevate Republicans in the eyes of Cleveland."
Now that the recommendation from the Republican National Committee's site selection committee is in, negotiations with Cleveland officials are expected to begin shortly. A press conference will be held later this afternoon.
The courtship with the national GOP dates back to at least February, when the city submitted its bid. Cleveland was selected a week later as one of eight contenders.
The RNC narrowed the list to four in late May, and on June 25 picked Cleveland and Dallas as the two finalists to host the event.
And last week, RNC officials visited Cleveland to assess "creative ways" to make the city's bid work.
Conventions can be significant economic generators for a city. One study showed that the 2012 GOP convention pumped more than $200 million into the Tampa and Florida economies. That convention drew roughly 50,000 visitors.
Cleveland's convention pitch was rooted in political geography and in a downtown renaissance that leaders said occurred after the city lost its bid for the GOP's 2008 convention. Since that audition, Cleveland has added more hotel rooms and a new convention center.
It's also believed that the expected June availability of Quicken Loans Arena, which will host floor events for the convention, played a role.
Fundraising is another key consideration, and local boosters have estimated that Cleveland will need to raise $55 million to $60 million to cover the costs of hosting.
Boosters are also working to lure the 2016 Democratic National Convention, although officials have said it is highly unlikely the city could host both events.
The City of Cleveland worked damn hard to land this convention. They where close in the running for both the Democrat and Republican conventions in 2012. They planned hard and executed flawlessly.
The Democrat Mayor Jackson. The County Executive Fitzgerald (D) and his opponent for Governor the Republican incumbent Kasich all worked together with an impressive host of local business people to put together a proposal and pitch the City.
The Mayor spent the entire time with the representatives when they where in town and personally showed them around. The Governor spent a great deal of time with the sight committee as well.
To down play their efforts and to run down the city makes you look like a fool.
I live in the city. I work with and volunteer with organizations that are attempting to make the city better. What exactly, besides run away to the suburbs, have you ever done to better the city? Bitching about it from the exurban subdivision doesn't count.
Why preach to the choir in Dallas. I think it’s better to go where few know you and explain why your party’s principles are more beneficial for the individual.
because the convention will only be shown locally in Dallas??
The last convention was in Tampa.
Dallas is very spread out. Their venues are not close to each other. Everything in Dallas is at least thirty minutes away from everything else and they are always in the opposite direction from where you came. If you are from Dallas or have spent much time there you know I speak the truth. Not to mention the traffic!
One of the things that Cleveland emphasized is their tight Downtown venues. The Arena, the Ball Park, the New Convention Center , and Medical Mart the football stadium the main hotels, casino, large shopping mall and train station are all interconnected.
The nominee and his entourage can fly into the Downtown Burke Airport by private jet take a five minute ride to the Ritz or Renaissance located adjacent to the Q arena or the Hilton adjacent to the Convention Center and the Global Center for Health Innovation be walked to either the arena or the Convention Center in complete privacy and out of sight of the public via interconnected tunnels or sky walks.
The Conventioneers will have tons of activities all within walking distance of their Downtown hotels including live theater performances, live entertainment, table and slot gaming, sporting events shopping, dining at World class restaurants and bars (including, but not limited to ‘the Canadian Ballet’) . All without hailing a cab or getting on a shuttle.
By shuttle, cab or public transportation(train, BRT, or bus) they are literally less than 10 minutes from University Circle with even more World Class cultural, educational and music venues like The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, The Western Reserve Historical Society, the Botanical Gardens, MOCA Cleveland, Severance Halls and one of the best Little Italy's in America.
A short trip West(five minutes)just over the bridges to the Ohio City & Tremont neighborhoods is the top notch Metro Parks Zoo & Rain Forrest, entertainment, dining district and clubs.
Reince Priebus stated more than once how impressed and surprised he was personally about the city. He said more than once how he liked the inter-connectivity of the venues and the vast amount of close entertainment that the conventioneers could chose from.
A convention is more than a TV event. It is a payoff and huge party for the people that the party need to work and volunteer. They are the people who push for victory, raise money, knock on doors, make phone calls, stuff envelopes and GOTV.
The Republican Sight Committee wanted their delegates to be in a place that offered a great deal to do close to the convention so they wouldn't have to spend all their time in traffic. Cleveland offers the conventioneers anything they would like to do within ten minutes of their hotel room and the City pitched that aspect heavily.
Cleveland worked harder for this convention and wanted it more than the other cities and the sight committee agreed.
Cleveland will put on a great show for the Republicans.
As a Clevelander I am very proud of the City and how the leadership in the private and public sectors worked to get this Convention and they should be cheered, not run down by a bunch of ignorant fools.
Sounds delightful.
Looks like they made a good choice.
.
Cleveland doesn’t help the GOPE get more votes than any other city though.
So it has a socialist-designed “tight downtown” where people can be crammed together in tenements, I don’t see how that is a good thing.
The Prince Reebus’ endorsement makes it smell bad too.
Wide open spaces rock.
It probably doesn’t matter which city it is located in, truthfully, the GOPE will find a way to lose the election if it is possible.
Cleveland must have agreed to provide the teleprompters that have the results in ‘em before the votes are even taken.
What’s next? A Southern Baptist Convention in Mecca?
Yevgeny or Michelle?
Also Cleveland wasn't socialist designed by any stretch of the imagination. It was only the Leftist Democrats that destroyed it.
Cleveland was designed over 200 years ago and it was shaped by the titans of the Industrial Revolution and the Republican Party.
John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil, Jeptha Wade Founder of Western Union Telegraph, Banker and industrialist George Worthington, William McKinley (Canton) , inventor of the arc light Charles Brush, mining magnate Samuel Mather, Industrialist and Republican King Maker Marc Hanna, James A. Garfield and hundreds of other businessmen and Republicans of the Industrial Age.
BTW: It is an unwritten rule that all Presidents from Ohio must die in office. Out of the eight Ohio Presidents William Harrison, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, & Warren Harding all died in office. Two where assassinated. Half the Presidents named William also died in office. Contrary to reports, BJ Bill Clinton was NOT one of them .He was just impeached.
Michelle. She’s very petite, and very lovely!
Good, glad Dallas didn’t get it. Don’t need a bunch of RINOs in my town.
The only way this could be good news is if LeBron James, wearing a Cavalier uniform after winning a championship for Cleveland, is a keynote speaker for the GOP.
I drove through Cleveland once. Quickly.
Holding the convention in Cleveland is very considerate for those Michigan Auto Union worker protesters and their shills. Keeps their travel reasonable.
Like them, it once boasted a huge population of ~1 million (city).
Like those cities, it has faced some pain in adjusting away from industry and toward the service and technology-oriented economy.
Also like those cities, it has blue-collar roots, "regular Americans" so to speak.
I like the approach of going directly into a deep blue population center myself sans any fear of "them" making "us" look bad. I say, bring it head-on!
Congratulations Cleveland!
Ohio has almost as many auto workers as Michigan and only half are unionized.
The UAW members don’t protest. They hire part timers at minimum wage to do their picketing for them. The union auto workers are too busy getting high at lunch and sleeping at their work stations to picket.
They could have taken their talents to South Beach?
Thanks for the correction! Indeed, in that election, Virginia alone among the Southern states went for Ford.
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