Kohrman Jackson & Krantz Partner Jon Pinney, who serves as the general counsel and treasurer for the Cleveland 2016 RNC Host Committee, recently put into context the magnitude of the convention during a panel presentation to several hundred attorneys at the Cleveland State University’s law school.
Reprinted from the December 2, 2014 Cleveland.com article “Republican National Convention to transform and disrupt Cleveland: By the Numbers” By Karen Farkas, Northeast Ohio Media Group.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The 2016 Republican National Convention will transform Cleveland and disrupt the everyday life of the city, according to the general counsel of the committee bringing the event to the city.
Jon Pinney, general counsel and treasurer of the Cleveland 2016 RNC Host Committee, recently put into context the magnitude of the convention during a panel presentation to several hundred attorneys at Cleveland State University’s law school.
He advised them to avoid the city during the two-week event, which will close the Q arena for six weeks, attract more than 5,000 protesters and 50,000 attendees, and bring in $400 million in economic impact.
The payoff is the opportunity to “let people see Cleveland for what it is,” he said. “Everyone should keep in mind the big picture.”
The goal is not to get rich, but to reintroduce the city to the world, Pinney said, as he explained the scale of the event.
Here’s a look at the numbers:
12: Minutes before deadline when the committee sent its bid off by overnight mail.
$50 million to $60 million: Amount the local non-profit committee needs to raise to host the convention.
$50 million: Amount expected to be paid by the federal government for security. The city expects the Department of Homeland Security to designate the convention, as it has others in the past, as a national special security event and place the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security in charge.
$20 million: Amount to transform the bowl of Quicken Loans Arena into a full-scale media production facility. It includes removing 3,500 seats and 30 suites, building five platforms for the major networks and creating 30 affiliate broadcast centers.
$30 million: Amount needed for infrastructure improvements by telecommunications and network carriers to update the Q. The amount of data flowing out the night of the acceptance speech will be 10 times what occurs during a Cleveland Cavaliers game.
6: Number of weeks everyone in The Q must vacate the building.
16,200: Hotel rooms needed. The committee has sent out 70 contracts to hotels in the last three weeks.
50,000: Attendees, including delegates and media.
15,000: Credentialed media. It is triple the number for a Super Bowl. The only media event larger is the Olympics.
5,000-10,000: Expected demonstrators.
10: Days the Cleveland Indians will be on a road trip so Progressive Field can be used for events. The team and the players union rejected a proposed two-week road trip.
300,000: Square footage needed for a media center. Gateway East is an option. “We asked the city if we could tear it apart, use it and give it back, and the city said yes,” Pinney said.
1,200: Events that will be booked throughout the region during the convention.
250: Contracts the committee expects to negotiate.
$400 million: Projected economic impact.
“We are not concerned about that figure,” Pinney said about the economic impact. “We did not do it for that purpose. It is not an economic driver. It was done for one reason. To reintroduce the city to the world. The city has done so much with great leadership and we want the world to see the new Cleveland. That is why it was done. People should not expect to get rich.”
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