[Governor Dinwiddie]

#6: "Las Vegas would have been better."

That's an excellent point. Las Vegas in the summer always has plenty of rooms available, and plenty of first class venues to hold a convention. And Las Vegas has a professionalism and mastery of the hospitality industry that puts Charlotte to shame in every respect.

The one oasis in Charlotte is the Billy Graham Library center. Other than that, you can flush the whole town.
 

[Zhang Fei]

[That’s an excellent point. Las Vegas in the summer always has plenty of rooms available, and plenty of first class venues to hold a convention. And Las Vegas has a professionalism and mastery of the hospitality industry that puts Charlotte to shame in every respect.]

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Presidential year conventions are a lot like the Olympics. The parties expect the cities to foot a lot of the costs. Charlotte is picking up the tab for security and a host of other ancillary costs in exchange for international exposure. Hosting it in Vegas would be a strictly cash-and-carry exercise with the RNC covering the cost of security and paying the city to close off the roads, etc. So you go from an Olympics-style event where the convention is subsidized by the city to a corporate event when you pay the city for everything.

[Fiji Hill]

I don’t think Las Vegas would have been a good choice. The convention center is some distance from most of the hotels.