WHY CLEVELAND FOR THE 2016 RNC?

Thousands of "Welcome" banners were displayed throughout
the city of Cleveland; this particular banner waved at
the entrance of Quicken Loans Arena (the convention arena),
photo courtesy of clevescene.com

Yesterday we learned a ton of background insight into why, and how, Cleveland was picked for the 2016 Republican National Convention. Our guest speaker Diane Downing, a Huntington bank executive and Chief Operating Officer for the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee, described the process that began back in 2012 that brought the national spotlight to Cleveland this year.

Something some Cleveland'ers might not realize is that Cleveland had actually put a bid on the 2012 RNC that ultimately took place in Tampa Bay, Florida. (The rest of this article will not be my opinion or thoughts but rather based on Dianne's lecture and experiences:) The main reason that Cleveland did not get the 2012 bid for the convention is that the city simply did not have the facilities or hotels to handle the needs of the convention; about 50,000 visitors (including 15,000 members of the media) come to a city during a convention so multiple improvements and expansions allowed for Cleveland to be on track for a 2016 bid.

For the 2016 conventions the city of Cleveland actually placed bids on both the RNC and the DNC, ultimately withdrawing the DNC bid after becoming a finalist city for the RNC. According to Downing Chris Connor and John Penny, among others, traveled through a snowstorm that most other prospective city representatives did not and really finalized Cleveland as the decided host city.

Before the decision was finalized RNC location selection members came to check out Cleveland twice to plan further expansion and after Cleveland was officially named the host city of the 2016 RNC (before LeBron decided to return to Cleveland I might add).

After Cleveland was officially chosen the city agreed to some stipulations that the RNC expects of the host city: the city pays $64 million, hotel rooms are provided for visitors, venues are provided for events, providing a main venue for the convention itself as well as the members of the press, as well as finding and scheduling about 8,000 volunteers - although only about 3,500 volunteers ended up working the RNC, with the volunteers taking on multiple shifts.

According to Downing, Cleveland relished at the opportunity to showcase the city, as well as Northeast Ohio, as more than just a 'Rust Belt' city and area; what better way to put not only the national, but international spotlight, on our city.

While there were concerns over security and safety with the volatile tensions between police and citizens as well as the divisive rhetoric and tone that accompanies Trump and his campaign, the police were not only readily trained in basic police tactics but also very attune to community policing allowing for unhindered free speech without triggering violence. Furthermore, the federal government felt there was a perceived national security threat, and supplied $50 million in gear and resources for police throughout the week.

Thanks to the incredible work of the police officers and the people that planned and organized the convention the peaceful week featured only 23 arrests throughout the entire week, while at the DNC in Philadelphia there were 50 arrests on the first day.

Economically, many in the Cleveland area expected a boost in the local economy similar to the $200 million bump Tampa received in 2012 - leading many to unrealistic expectations. Cleveland did not seem to get that same economic boost this year, according to Cleveland.com.

While, according to Downing, Cleveland's host committee did indeed raise the most money in Republican convention history, the city did not receive the traditional $20 million aid from the Republican Party to help fund the convention; not only that, but Downing hinted that there were some usual sponsors that did not participate in this year's Republican convention but most likely would be sponsoring the Democratic convention.

So Cleveland: I know that the convention may not have been everything we might have expected economically short-term, but the long-term effects of this convention will be that Cleveland has improved it's national and international image, fueling Cleveland's rising economy and culture.