The logistics of hosting a convention are daunting, and the benefits are modest. But for the city that pulls it off, prestige is the big prize.
By ROBERT TRIGAUX
Published September 6, 2004
NEW YORK - The city that edged out the Tampa Bay area to host last week's 2004 Republican National Convention deserves a solid B+
for delivering a successful GOP gathering under tough conditions.
New York balanced the needs of President Bush's faithful conservatives, providing delegates with plenty of entertainment (and 22,000 guaranteed hotel rooms), while tolerating anti-Bush street protests of as many as 200,000 marchers. New York also deployed an expensive, post-Sept. 11, 2001, security force that transformed parts of midtown Manhattan into an armed encampment.
The final numbers are not out yet, but New York also looks like it will squeeze a profit from the Republican convention.
That's no easy task. When cities win a bid to host some major event - a Super Bowl or a national political convention - economic forecasts blossom promising financial bounty. Boston at first boasted it would reap $154-million by hosting July's Democratic National Convention. A closer analysis by a Boston think tank called the Beacon Hill Institute suggests the real number is closer to $15-million, a mere tenth of the original sum.
New York's numbers are no less fluid. Officials claimed $265-million would pour into the city, while the city's own comptroller swore a $300-million loss would result from lost business. That amazing disparity speaks volumes. Nobody has a good handle on the benefit to the bottom line.
The likelihood in high-priced New York is probably closer to Boston's experience: a solid profit but no huge windfall.
Let's see. For all the headaches of protesters, the interruption of many businesses and residents, and the need to convert parts of a city into a military zone, the profit is modest at best.
So why bother? New York's Kevin Sheekey, who ran the host committee that prepared the city for last week's GOP event, summed it up nicely to Crain's New York Business. "This is a critical opportunity to prove that New York remains a world-class city," he said.
And why is Tampa Bay still in the hunt to host its own national political convention? To prove that Tampa Bay has the fire in the belly to become a world-class metro area.
Hey, everybody's got a dream.
Making the metro area major leagues has been Tampa Bay's No. 1 goal for decades. That's why the area competes to host Super Bowls. That's why it tried to land the 2012 Summer Olympics. To play with the Big Dogs.
It's not every city's path. The stakes are getting so high to handle a major Republican or Democratic convention, some cities are probably going to drop out of future consideration.
That's the conclusion of Massachusetts Institute of Technology economics professor William Wheaton. He estimates 40 cities that once sought to host a major political convention will dwindle to about 10 that actually possess the financial clout, proper facilities to accommodate big crowds and a police force strong enough to handle potential protests.
Hosting a political convention and making it work financially was challenging enough before 9/11, Wheaton suggests. Now it's almost impossible.
How the Big Apple managed its first chance to host the GOP offers some important lessons to this metropolitan area. Two years ago, the Tampa Bay area was pitted against New York and New Orleans in the final bidding to become the 2004 host city of the Republican National Convention.
For financial and symbolic reasons, Tampa Bay lost this round to New York.
Few cities can counter the megabucks that New York's legions of big corporations can muster when needed. The Republicans this year also preferred the historic significance of convening in New York, a city rebounding from the tragedy of 9/11.
A convention held in the Tampa Bay area, Republican party officials worried, could remind people of Florida's hanging chads and the controversial outcome of the 2000 election.
Still, Tampa Bay's status as the No. 2 bidder for the 2004 convention puts this metro area in a strong position for a run at hosting a big political convention in 2008. Florida Republican Party finance chairman Al Austin of Tampa expects Tampa will try again in four years.
What if last week's GOP convention had taken place here?
Some argue Tampa Bay would face traffic jams and bridge gridlock, street chaos, angry local businesses spurned by cheap delegates, frustrated commuting residents, sharply rising security costs, and the risk of bad publicity on a national scale if something goes wrong.
More than 50,000 Republican delegates, journalists, lobbyists, staffers, corporate employees and others would descend upon this metro area. Every large convention facility, from the St. Pete Times Forum to Tampa's convention center to Tropicana Field, and dozens of other halls and hotel ballrooms, would have been reserved to hold meetings, caucuses, forums, debates, parties and, oh yes, even more parties.
Convention participants would be housed in far-flung hotels spread across multiple counties. Transportation - this is a tricky part here - would have to ensure people could conveniently get where they needed to go, and on time.
New York not only enjoyed millions in contributions from its major corporations, but also benefited from the use and proximity of their densely packed Manhattan headquarters for forums and parties. The lack of big business in the Tampa Bay area, especially headquartered companies, would be challenging. Delegates want to be entertained during the daylight hours before the major political figures speak in the evenings.
In this especially polarized presidential campaign, New York found itself confronted with hundreds of thousands of mostly anti-Bush protesters. It's unlikely Tampa Bay would draw similar numbers. But if only half came, they still could fill downtown streets. And like New York, Tampa Bay would need to respond with a strong police force.
No matter how successful a big convention may be, there are losers and winners.
In New York, small businesses near Madison Square Garden (the site of the GOP convention) complained the armed camp and closed streets outside their doors scared away customers. Cab drivers groused about extensive detours around closed streets, and poor tips from delegates unaccustomed to New York fares.
Even the flagship department store Macy's, just a block from Madison Square Garden, said it saw slower activity. "A lot of people seem to be bypassing our store," spokeswoman Elina Kazen told the Associated Press.
Yet hundreds of other restaurants, caterers and hotels clearly benefited from the large-scale convention and associated parties.
Here's a safe guess on the two most likely winners in any host convention city: big businesses and the city's ego. Beyond that, the bets are off.
One last thought. Had Tampa Bay hosted the Republicans last week, what would have been foremost on the minds of delegates Thursday night when President Bush spoke on national TV? A second term in the White House or, perhaps, approaching Hurricane Frances?
