Site Selection 2008

City of Cleveland

Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland
Cleveland, OH
 

"Cleveland is a great city with the vast resources, leadership, and experience to make the 2008 Republican National Convention the most memorable yet."
Robert T. Bennett
Chairman, Ohio Republican Party

Rock'n the RNC in 2008

Host City
...we are not just talking about raising the dollars, we have already incorporated, 'Rockin' the RNC, 2008,' which is the non-profit organization of the City of Cleveland's Host Committee.  This Committee will be responsible for all aspects of raising the dollars, working with the RNC to manage the budget and to ensure that we provide you with the best resource and local talent for the organizational aspects of hosting a convention of this magnitude.
 

Fundraising
Based on the research of past Conventions, the Host Committee is prepared to raise approximately $60-$75 milion of cash, in-kind, corporate and public funding for the Convention.
 

Neighborhoods, Entertainment, and Culture
More and more visitors are discovering that Cleveland's best kept secret is its neighborhoods, the city's true heart and soul.  Each ethnic neighborhood retains much of its Old-World cultural background from food to festivals.  To discover the wonderful treasures of Greater Cleveland, take in a tour of its neighborhoods.
Chagrin Falls  -  Coventry Village  -  Cudell/Edgewater  -  Fairfax  -  Glenville  -  Kamm's Corners  -  Little Italy  -  Collinwood  -  Ohio City  -  Shaker Square/Larchmere  -  Slavic Village  -  St. Clair/Superior  -  Tremont  -  University Circle.  Downtown Districts: Flats Entertainment District  -  Historic Warehouse District  -  Historic Gateway District  -  Theater District  -  North Coast District  -  Civic Center District  -  Tower City District  -  Quadrangle District.

Our dynamic city will have you laughing, playing, dining, dancing, cheering and applauding for non-stop good times.  From first-class museums, trendy restaurants and stylish shopping to famed sports teams, red-hot nightlife and everything in between, Greater Cleveland boasts an attractive mix of amenities that satisfies any liking.
 

Convention Facilities
The Cleveland bid proposes a more than ample selection of available convention facility space to meet the needs of the Republican National Committee, all of which is consolidated in one geographic area.

Cleveland has a very compact downtown, and with the majority of convention facilities located near the Tower City complex, the 2008 Republican National Convention will be in the heart of downtown Cleveland.  The Tower City complex encompasses over 1 million square feet of available media workspace, two hotels that will support the ancillary convention meeting needs, and is connected by enclosed walkway to the main convention area, Quicken Loans Arena.

Quicken Loans Arena is a state-of-the art facility that was built to host world-class events, such as the 2008 Republican National Convention, in a first-class environment.

Many new upgrades were made during 2005-2006.  They include an HDTV quality scoreboard, an acoustically clear sound system and a full-arena LED ring.  Enhancements are seen in all new burgundy colored arena seats and exciting concourse graphics that highlight great Cleveland performances.  New sophisticated metal detectors were installed at all arena entrances.

Approximately 17,600 seats in the Arena are permanently fixed seats.  These seats were completely replaced in 2005/2006.  These seats vary in width from 16" to 21".  In addition there are 1,384 permanent seats in the 87 luxury suites on Level 2 and Level 4 which were recoverd in 2006 to match the permanent seats.

Two tented structures will be created to house the office space for the Republican National Convention.  The tent cities provided for the convention staff will give immediate and secure access to the Quicken Loans Arena.

To accomodate the required space needed for the 2008 Republican National Convention, temporary media space will be set up in the Higbee Building.
 

Hotels and Housing
Northeast Ohio has an abundance of over 30,000 hotel rooms ranging from first-class to economy, within a one-hour drive of the convention.  Cleveland's ample roadways and general ease of access during normal times and heightened over convention periods will allow for convenient transfer of all attendees of the conventions.
 

Transportation
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) offers a variety of services for downtown visitors.  Persons flying into Cleveland Hopkins International Airport can board a train inside the terminal, be downtown in less than 30 minutes - and never go outside.  All trains serve Tower City, its connecting hotels and the 1,000 foot long Walkway to the Quicken Loans Arena.  Many major RTA bus routes - as well as those from Lake and Summit counties - serve the Public Square/Tower City area.
 

Note: Above are very short excerpts extracted from the 98-page Cleveland bid document.
Historical note: Cleveland hosted the 1924 (Calvin Coolidge and Charles G. Dawes) and 1936 (Alf M. Landon and Frank Knox) Republican National Conventions.
 
 
Copyright © 2006  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action