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Republicans Open Bids On 2008 Convention Site
WASHINGTON — More than two dozen cities have been invited to submit bids to explain why they would be the best choice for the 2008 Republican National Convention.
The 31 cities were announced Wednesday by the Republican National Committee, which also has asked to hear from cities not on the list but interested in playing host to the convention.
The committee’s site selection committee will hold individual meetings in Washington with representatives of all interested cities to discuss the choice of a convention city. The RNC has several basic requirements for the host city.
# A main convention facility capable of seating at least 20,500.
# A city and its host committee’s willingness and ability to provide and pay for security for the convention.
# City must be able to make available to the RNC’s planning committee 20,000 hotel rooms and 2,000 one- and two-bedroom suites.
Cities that received requests for convention proposals are: Anaheim, Calif.; Atlanta; Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Kansas City, Mo.; Memphis, Tenn.; Miami; Minneapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; St. Louis, Mo.; and Tampa.
The RNC’s site selection committee will decide on a list of finalist cities by mid-summer of this year and will visit those cities in the late summer. Final selection is expected no later than Feb. 1, 2007.
So, what are the chances it will be here? I could see some strong political rational in putting the convention in Ohio’s capital city…
Then again, New Orleans might be a good choice for them too. :?
I do agree that bringing the RNC here would be a positive move in the fact that Columbus will probably be another deciding factor in which way Ohio goes in the next election. However Columbus is pretty Democratically oriented and very politically active when it wants to be. Something they may not consider that I feel is a negative for the event is the fact that the convention center is right on High St witha small amount of sidewalk area. There will be both protestors and supporters outside during the event and that would probably result in closing High St. Not a good thing for the area.
The same can be said about NYC (times TEN) and that’s where it was last time. :o
Yeah, that is true. Which convention started the riots? Maybe election of 96 I think, Chicago and the DNC maybe? Wasn’t into politics back then.
Hey…protestors and supporters have to eat and sleep somewhere too! I’ll take thier money if they want to shut down High st. for a few days!
However Columbus is pretty Democratically oriented and very politically active when it wants to be.
The same can be said about NYC (times TEN) and that’s where it was last time.
Yea, I think it will be met with resistance no matter what city they choose. Issues like the war in Iraq, the Patriot Act, and stem-cell reaserch are sure to bring out people with opposing viewpoints.
Yeah… if they can shut down a couple blocks in Manhattan for it, then they can re-route high street for a few days. :roll:
Kathy Showalter
Business First
The Republican National Committee wants Columbus to consider hosting the 2008 Republican National Convention.
Columbus is among 31 cities to receive a request for proposal that outlines the convention’s space and facility needs and asks cities for their interest in meeting them. The city’s responses will be used by convention organizers to choose a site.
Finalists will be named by mid-summer and the host city will be named by Feb. 1, 2007.
Experience Columbus is already working on the city’s response.
“We have to see if their requirements match what we can do here in Columbus,” said Patty Donahey Geiger, media relations manager for Experience Columbus. “The hotels are willing to work with us. … The mayor is 100 percent behind us, (and) city council is there for us, too.”
At first glance, Columbus can meet some of the convention’s needs. Nationwide Arena can serve as the main convention staging area, capable of seating 20,500 people. The request also requires a host city to provide 20,000 hotel rooms, 2,000 one- and two-bedroom suites, parking and a variety of rooms to accommodate committee meetings and media.
Columbus should be expected to shoulder at least some of the costs for security, according to the request.
“Until we scrutinize the RFP carefully, we don’t know,” Geiger said. “We have to see if their requirements match what Columbus can offer.”
Columbus is the only Ohio city sent the request, though Cleveland and Cincinnati are welcome to respond, said Aaron McLear, the Republican National Committee’s regional press secretary.
“This is a very inclusive process,” McLear said. “No city has been counted out at this point.”
READ MORE
I think that, assuming for the moment that Columbus would be able and willing to provide security, it would be a good move for *either* political party to pick Columbus for its 2008 convention, considering the “swing” nature of the city (we really are the swing city in the swing state). The city of Columbus itself may lean heavily Democratic, and holding the Republican convention in particular a stone’s throw from the heavily gay Short North might be a tad ironic to those in the know, but the region itself is split right down the middle, and is certainly far more conservative than New York. One can’t win an election without fighting for the center somewhat, and some up-close exposure to central Ohio might not be all bad for either party (though admittedly, they might not get all that much “exposure” to the people who actually live here even if they came here). Someplace in the Midwest or Southwest would make more sense, politically, than Boston for the Democrats or Salt Lake City for the GOP.
And if they close off High St. for a couple of days … well, hey, aren’t we all about a pedestrianized downtown here, anyway? :wink:
Yeah, I know. More room for us protesters!
Not really an article so much a as a blurb, but this bit was funny – Chicago (also asked to bid for the RNC) said they weren’t interested…
Well, the only downside I would see would be the secret service crawling all over every square inch of the arena district (not sure if they are involved in national convention security, I would assume they are). I had an interesting with them when Bush was here on election day 2004. He was in my friend’s office building, so I went over to check it out. I’ve never seen so many people in black trench coats in my life.
Columbus by its very nature is always going to attract a lot of political attention. Might as well make some good money off it that goes to more than just ad agencies (most of which are located a long way from Ohio, anyway).
I don’t think security would be that big an issue. Sure, there would be demonstrators, but those are to be expected, and no political convention has ever attracted all that much attention. By 2008, I think a lot of the spark of the recent post-2003 (Iraq) wave of protests will have faded (never mind that 2008 marks Bush’s last year, and a good deal of the protest factions’ ire was unbecomingly personal). Columbus is a pretty safe city, all things considered, and one of the cleanest in the country as well, which makes us “photogenic” for all the cameras that a convention would bring. All things considered, the one part I’m wondering if we’ve got covered is the hotel space. Might have to have some people camped out a ways from downtown (after all, the convention wouldn’t be the *only* thing going on in the city).
Mayor traveling to Washington to try to land convention
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Jodi Andes
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Mayor Michael B. Coleman is part of a bipartisan effort to bring the 2008 Republican National Convention to Columbus.
Politically, blue and red don’t mix.
But on Tuesday, the D’s and R’s will work together to bring C-town a little green.
Mayor Michael B. Coleman, Columbus’ leading Democrat, is teaming with Chris McNulty, the state’s second-ranking Republican Party official, to try to lure the 2008 Republican National Convention here.
The two will go to Washington on Tuesday for an informational meeting for cities seeking to bring the convention home, said Paul Astleford, who heads Experience Columbus, the city’s tourism bureau.
READ MORE
It would certainly be great to lure them here … lots of business and a chance to show Columbus off a little bit … but this has to be a cause for concern:
It has the required 2,000 oneand two-bedroom suites.
And if Nationwide Arena, which can seat 20,000, doesn’t come close enough to meet the requirement for a 20,500-seat arena, the Schottenstein Center, with 21,000 seats, can, said Patty Donahey-Geiger, spokeswoman for Experience Columbus.
A problem could be how many of those 20,000 rooms the GOP expects to be in full-service hotels.
“When we talk about (21,377), that’s all the rooms in the Greater Columbus area,” Astleford said. “But we will be asking them about that.”
That’s cutting it pretty close on both hotel rooms and arena size. It’s good to have met the minimum, but it would be nicer if we had a little more margin for error. (I notice they didn’t propose Ohio Stadium … 107,000 seats there!)
A shame that we weren’t able to land this…
by Betsy Sundquist
July 25, 2008
Jon Stewart is taking over the History Theater, and CNN’s occupying the Eagle Street Grille. Those are just two of the many spots filling up fast in St. Paul – and around the Twin Cities – as the Sept. 1-4 Republican National Convention approaches.
Most popular, of course, are those in downtown St. Paul, near the Xcel Energy Center, site of the quadrennial GOP gathering. It’s a massive undertaking all around, as seen by how the Xcel essentially shut down last week as workers began transforming the hockey and music venue into a wired convention site.
In all, 46 sites around the Twin Cities have been designated as “official†venues for the RNC.
Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have approved extended hours for liquor sales in conjunction with the RNC; a $2,500 permit will allow approved establishments to serve liquor until 4 a.m. each day of the convention.
The RNC is expected to attract 45,000 visitors to Minneapolis-St. Paul, one-third of them members of the media.
READ MORE
Would be cool to host one of them in 2012. I don’t see us getting a larger arena in the next 4 years, but we should see additional hotel development downtown. Right?? * fingers crossed *
Also, I just went back and noticed that Experience Columbus was the org that put this bid together. Had this ever happened before? Is there a city committee/group/office in place or would EC always answer these types of requests? Seems like the city would attack this with a similar passion as they did the NetJets situation. I realize there are degrees of importance, but this would have been great exposure. EC has never stood out to me as entirely effective or innovative. I wonder if this would now fall under Michael Brown. I could see his office going through great lengths to get something like this in town. Nevermind, just answered my own question. Dem city gov’t, RNC bid, conflict of interest?
Also, I just went back and noticed that Experience Columbus was the org that put this bid together. Had this ever happened before? Is there a city committee/group/office in place or would EC always answer these types of requests? Seems like the city would attack this with a similar passion as they did the NetJets situation. I realize there are degrees of importance, but this would have been great exposure. EC has never stood out to me as entirely effective or innovative. I wonder if this would now fall under Michael Brown. I could see his office going through great lengths to get something like this in town. Nevermind, just answered my own question. Dem city gov’t, RNC bid, conflict of interest?
The mayor worked hard to get the RNC, traveling to DC and who-knows-what behind the scenes work. The city funds EC to lure conventions and Paul does an admirable job. He isn’t shy about calling on notable Columbusites to impress conventioneer scouts checking us out, and his work has made a real difference. He’s very low-key about his accomplishments, one of the things I like about him.
All the downtown four and five star hotel schemes will require significant public investment, a hard sell in this economy. Taxpayers are understandably reluctant to support building hotels they can’t afford to stay at; hopefully a decent plan will emerge that will help our convention center stay competitive.
Not exactly. Bringing boatloads of money into your city generally tends to make most reasonable politicians color-blind. EC put the proposal together, but the Mayor and Council were pushing hard for it too. From two different article previously linked:
I don’t think we have a problem with the convention space between Nationwide, the Convention Center, Vets, and potential use of facilities at a number of downtown hotels, businesses, and up at OSU as well.
The exact reason stated why we didn’t win the bid was that even though we had just over the required amount of hotel rooms, there weren’t enough full-service hotel rooms required for the clientele the RNC would be bringing to town. Folks who come into town for the Arnold might be cool with staying at the Downtown Holiday Inn, but I guess politicians and big media are not. ;)
Cool, thanks for clarifying, the article was a little vague. I just wondered if that would be a conflict, I hoped the good of the city would outweigh, but wasn’t sure. Politics is an interesting game.
I wouldn’t mind knowing more about what Experience Columbus does. I just read the “About Us” on the website and was shocked. Honestly, I thought it was just a welcome center for tourists and not much more. Am I right in saying that under the “Experience Columbus” name is essentially the city’s sales force? Very interesting.
Experience Columbus is the “Greater Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau”. I would say they are a “sales force” as far as visitor attraction (and possible retention) goes. Just as the Chamber of Commerce is the city’s “sales force” as far as business attraction and development goes.
They are one arm of the local government who’s purpose is to drive economic development in the city through one specific sector (visitors, travel, conventions, etc).
Their new space in the Arena District is exactly how you put it… a welcome center for visitors. But they do a whole lot more than just that.