The mayor explains why no bid for GOP convention

San Antonio Express News ^ | Updated 10:21 am CDT, Friday, May 11, 2018 = | Ron Nirenberg

[Zhang Fei]

National political conventions aren’t the great deal for cities that the parties and their advocates want us to believe.

That’s the reason San Antonio hasn’t pursued a bid for either national political convention in 20 years. Only one city seems to be aggressively pursuing the 2020 Republican National Convention this time around.

For national convention bids, local organizing committees are required to raise tens of millions of dollars for the privilege of serving as the host city for the gathering. In the case of the 2020 Republican National Convention, the GOP wants a $68 million to $70 million guaranty agreement up front.

While the local organizing committee is supposed to raise that money from private sources, the RFP (request for proposal) requirements specifically mandate that the host city and/or the host committee guarantee the required contribution with a letter of credit and that earnest money be deposited.

This means local taxpayers likely will be on the hook for whatever isn’t raised by private sources. That’s not something that I, as mayor of San Antonio, am willing to put on the backs of local taxpayers.

While the consensus not to pursue a convention bid is rooted in the economics and taxpayer liability, there are other challenges inherent in a national convention bid as well.

The security challenge for any host city is massive — far beyond anything the city has seen in marquee events such as the Final Four or the NAFTA signing.

Even with an allocation from Congress, the process would strain the San Antonio Police Department, which would be part of a massive security operation that would require thousands of law enforcement officers from outside the city.

The security tasks include public safety, accommodating demonstration zones, traffic control and more.

The demands on our convention facilities would be extraordinary

[Zhang Fei]

As San Antonio's mayor sees it, political conventions are expensive to host. I expect, more and more, for Democratic cities to host Democratic conventions exclusively, given the cost. GOP conventions will increasingly be a cash-and-carry exercise, where the GOP has to foot the cost up front, and pay for its own private security.

[BipolarBob]

What’s the one city pursuing the Republican 2020 convention?

[Responsibility2nd]

This is a liberal Democrat mayor. He would probably be singing a different song if it was a bid for the Democratic convention.

[Responsibility2nd]

Charlotte.

[vette6387]

Why would the GOP want to hold a Party Convention in the Texico part of Texas? Ditto for Albepukee or Tucsgone!

[lee martell]

That is the same dirty secret attached to the city chosen to host The Olympic Games. It’s a great honor, of course, but also a great expense. The city creates these elaborate host cities and dormitories that get used for a few months, then abandoned. Nobody needs them and they are usually not built sturdy enough to pass onto the open market.

It’s like receiving a White Elephant.
You can’t kill it, because it was a gift, but now you’re stuck with all kinds of feeding, caring and sheltering expenses you never asked for.

[Alberta's Child]

You see the same trend with major world cities refusing to submit Olympic bids.

No reason to go out of your way to host something that will only be an expensive pain in the ass.

I look forward to the day when they have to hold the Super Bowl outside the country ... because nobody wants it here.

[BenLurkin]

Many offices in L A let staff “telecommute” during the Democrat Convention in 2000. LAPD warned the companies leasing space in the vicinity of the Convention Center that rioters were coming. (I forget what they were called back then. It’s the same criminals who constituted “Black Block” and the “Occupy” movement and now bill themselves as “anitfa”)

Sure enough there was a sizable riot, but LAPD prevailed gloriously.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Democratic_National_Convention#Protests

[Zhang Fei]

[Why would the GOP want to hold a Party Convention in the Texico part of Texas? Ditto for Albepukee or Tucsgone!]

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There’s a reason GOP suburbs don’t band together to host them - they’re expensive and a major inconvenience for local residents. Democratic cities, where conventions have been hosted for a very long time, tend to do it for the national and international exposure. I expect future GOP conventions to be a pure cash-and-carry exercise, where the GOP pays for everything, vs the Olympics, where there’s a large subsidy from the host city.

[Alberta's Child]

It's much easier for Democrat cities to host them because they're sh!t-holes that already function as police states anyway.

New York City, for example, has 34,000+ uniformed officers. They could host almost any type of event without even curtailing vacation schedules for their employees.

[stanne]

San Antonio is a city which was founded around the same time as the Jamestown settlement by Franciscan friars - missionaries ( The Alamo Mission is its most and only indigenous famous attraction) utilizing local help (native americans) on a creek whose climate is ridiculous in its inhospitable dryness and heat

It has no industry

It became a place for military training

When air conditioning took hold, it embraced tourism. The Riverwalk is nothing but chain hotels and restaurants. It is a below street level creek. San Antonio businesses - hotels and restaurants- capitalize on tourism to such an extent that the Riverwalk is a myth. A famous, money-making myth. As is, BTW, the dimunitive Alamo Mission

There is a massive building in the center of downtown built as - known as - tge convention center. It manages conventions on a large scale on a regular basis. Vendors thrive

For San Antonio to turn down a convention for any other reason than politics is b

B S

[stanne]

Oh. And San Antonio politics is sick with Mexcan invasion push.

[sergeantdave]

Why would Republicans hold a convention in enemy territory? That’s stupid as hell. Big liberal cities are dead - filled with gang-bangers, crooked rat politicians and subsequent Marxist riots. Are Republicans brain dead? (Don’t answer that)

Forget the failing, collapsing, crap-filled rat cities. Check out exurbia. Lots of stadiums and auditoriums - high school and college - with all the motels and hotels needed for attendees.

Quit acting completely stupid, Republicans.

[Zhang Fei]

[Why would Republicans hold a convention in enemy territory? That’s stupid as hell. Big liberal cities are dead - filled with gang-bangers, crooked rat politicians and subsequent Marxist riots. Are Republicans brain dead? (Don’t answer that)]

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Because consortia of GOP suburbs don’t bid for these expensive white elephant events that are also a major hassle for the local residents. The real question is why Democratic cities ever subsidized GOP conventions. I think they are beginning to come to their senses, and future GOP conventions will be strictly business-as-usual cash-and-carry, the way corporate conventions are set up. It will probably cost the GOP tens of millions of dollars more, but the Democrats were bound to wake up eventually, and the money is a low single-digit % relative to the billion or so dollars spent by each party during presidential years.

[MuttTheHoople]

If held in San Antonio, they'd be warmly welcomed by the host committee, led by Kino Jiminez

[Zhang Fei]

To cover the additional costs of staging conventions corporate-style, I expect RNC organizers to arrange loans with lenders who don’t expect the money back, as happened with Duke Energy’s loan to the DNC:

http://www.wbtv.com/story/21439492/dnc-host-committee-cant-pay-back-10-million-duke-energy-loan

Pretty corrupt, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

[sergeantdave]

good post, Zhang Fei.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Have the pub convention in Green Bay. Have the Packers come out in support.

[scrabblehack]

Is there any suburb (or set of suburbs) with
1. A large enough arena?
2. Adequate hotel space (this is a bit flexible, if adequate transportation is available).

Someone mentioned Guam, which apparently has enough hotel space. The arena seats 5000 - is that enough? Recent conventions seat many more than that.

I’m not sure if any of these would be good candidates:

Glendale AZ
Biloxi MS
Uniondale NY (Nassau Coliseum would be available by 2020 but
the immediate area is not that Republican - there are many worse though)
Provo UT or Ogden UT?