FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
 

RNC Site Selection Committee To Recommend Minneapolis – St. Paul For 2008 Republican National Convention

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Republican National Committee today announced that its Site Selection Committee has voted to recommend Minneapolis-St. Paul to host the 2008 Republican National Convention, pending the successful negotiation of the Site City Agreement.  The full RNC will vote on the recommendation at its Winter Meeting in January, 2007.  The convention will be held September 1-4, 2008.

"We are thrilled to accept the bid from Minneapolis-St. Paul to host our 2008 convention.  The host committee put together a tremendous bid and we are confident that we will partner for a successful event. Minneapolis-St. Paul has outstanding assets including state-of-the-art facilities, exciting and vibrant downtowns, and a clear enthusiasm from the community to host our convention," said RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman.

The Site Selection Committee reviewed bids from four cities: Cleveland, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, and Tampa-St. Petersburg.  The Committee visited the four cities in August.

The committee's decision was based on an independent and objective scorecard that committee members reviewed thoroughly.  The committee looked at a number of factors such as the number and proximity of hotels, size of the arena and its capacity to hold the convention, transportation, security, media work space, convention office space, and ability to finance the operation.

The Site Selection Committee is made up of nine RNC members.  Two members are elected from each of four regions and RNC Co-Chair Jo Ann Davidson chairs the committee.