December 10, 2013
Support for national convention in Vegas grows…
by Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald
Dear Fellow Republican,
As
you probably know, at a meeting of the Republican National Committee in
Beverly Hills last spring, I launched an effort to bring the GOP
national convention to Las Vegas in 2016. That proposal has now taken
off like wildfire and a formal proposal will be submitted early next
year.
This would be great for Nevada Republicans, great for Las Vegas and great for our state.
Below please find an op-ed published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sunday outlining all the reasons why Las Vegas is the perfect venue for the national convention…
EDITORIAL: GOP convention
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
December 8, 2013
There is only one argument against staging the 2016 Republican National Convention in Las Vegas: inconvenience.
If
delegates can’t wait to spend hours on buses every day, shuttling
between far-flung hotels and convention sites, Las Vegas is not the
place for them. If the party faithful want limited dining options and
long drives and waits just to eat, Las Vegas won’t do. If Republicans
are eager to have one or perhaps two layovers in airports around the
country on their way to and from the convention — and pay an inflated
fare for the privilege — Las Vegas won’t be much help. And if attendees
are dead-set against having unlimited entertainment options and fun
things to do, day and night, they certainly won’t want to be in Las
Vegas.
Inconvenience
and a lack of choice defines national political conventions. For most
cities, hosting more than 50,000 visitors, blocking out 17,000 hotel
rooms, having up to 350,000 square feet of meeting space adjacent to an
18,000-seat venue, and feeding and moving those guests across town and
back is a logistical nightmare. For Las Vegas, it’s business as usual.
“This
is what we do,” said Republican Brian Krolicki, Nevada’s lieutenant
governor and chairman of the Nevada Host Committee, the nonprofit group
organizing the Las Vegas bid for the party’s 2016 convention. “No other
city can match what Las Vegas offers.”
The
Republican National Committee has issued requests for proposals, and
the Nevada Host Committee will submit a formal bid by February’s
deadline. The committee has launched its website, www.lasvegas2016.com, and a Twitter account, @LV2016, to promote the bid.
Talk
about an easy sell. Las Vegas can almost meet the minimum hotel room
requirement with luxury suites; the city has about 150,000 total rooms,
all close to multiple potential convention venues. That convenience
means attendees would actually have time to enjoy their hotel rooms,
dining, shopping and shows in addition to participating in party
matters.
At
least $55 million to support the convention would be raised privately
by the Nevada Host Committee; no tax money would be used. The economic
and publicity benefits of the convention would be tremendous for the
valley. The host committee deserves the full support of Nevadans,
regardless of their party affiliation. And the bid is more than worthy
of the RNC’s backing — unless the organization is committed to a
convention of inconvenience.
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