RNC 2023

[beautyfromashes]

The way politics is right now, even hints of trying to stir it up in this thread, this isn't worth it to me. Either party.

That was the argument I made as well. I’d rather we have neither convention. Companies are getting to the point where they’ll pull $ from places merely for political affiliation, this is a time to be a purple metro, and be as neutral as possible IMO

Agreed. The affiliated usually get taken for granted anyway. Best to be seen as in the middle to get the benefits of being seen as a "swing vote" area.

[Highlander]

The RNC would be a big financial boost for the city's hotel/restaurant industry but not sure hosting either parties convention would be all that great to have given how divisive politics have become. I could see the whole thing becoming just a huge cluster in terms of protests and negative attention, potential damage to property and it could end up costing the local government big bucks with police presence, security etc...

Plus, I doubt if KC even has enough hotel rooms in the downtown area to get on the short list anyway. If Missouri and Kansas were critical states, I could see either party overlooking KC's shortcomings but since neither state is really going to be contested, I suspect KC will be passed over for more mega convention-ready locales or states where the vote could go either way.

[normalthings]

My understanding is the Feds and/or convention pay for security. Over $50 million in 2016 with half going to local wages. Cleveland won with very comparable hotel rooms.

[Highlander]

My understanding is the Feds and/or convention pay for security. Over $50 million in 2016 with half going to local wages. Cleveland won with very comparable hotel rooms.

Right but Cleveland is in Ohio which is one of the more valuable swing states. Either party would be willing to overlook the shortcomings of a city like Cleveland to increase their chances of winning a prize like Ohio. Unfortunately, Missouri is not up for grabs so KC has to live with its shortcomings.

[beautyfromashes]

I’ve never understood the swing state angle. Let’s bring our crazy carnival to your state, employ massive amounts of police to lock everything down for VIPs, close roads making travel terrible and pack every bar and restaurant so you can’t celebrate your birthday. THAT will make you vote for me.

[FlippantCitizen]

Hosting a convention for either party here in 2024 gives me a sense of dread. The potential for Portland style political street violence seems all too real. It would likely go fine but honestly I don't even want to worry about the possibility and would rather keep the national political situation in 2024 at arms length to the extent possible. I say that as a resident and it would go for the RNC or DNC.

[FlippantCitizen]

Also this thread is called 2023 RNC. It would be 2024, no?

[aknowledgeableperson]

Honestly not a bad draw, occupancy like that would definitely help give a jolt to the hospitality downtown for sure

To offset that would be the amount of downtime T-Mobile Center would have for convention set-up and tear-down. T-Mobile would likely be unavailable for other uses for 3 months or more.

[FangKC]

I'd rather KC withdraw. It's not worth it.

[Anthony_Hugo98]

Honestly not a bad draw, occupancy like that would definitely help give a jolt to the hospitality downtown for sure

To offset that would be the amount of downtime T-Mobile Center would have for convention set-up and tear-down. T-Mobile would likely be unavailable for other uses for 3 months or more.

Would it actually be out of use that long? I can’t imagine it would be more than a month start to finish

[Chris Stritzel]

If Trump wins the nomination there could be some ugly riots. Who pays for that ?

I personally doubt he would be nominated again. Depending on what happens in the world of Trump, DeSantis might be it. But that's outside of my world of expertise.

But the economic impact of the RNC could be a good thing for Kansas City. Regardless of the politics, it would be a nice way to showcase the city to more people. Every Convention should be an opportunity to do as such - showcase the City in a nice way. Give it all you got in a way. Make a good impression and then hope people either move to the City, come back to visit, or (if they're real estate investors) invest in the City.

[flyingember]

If Trump wins the nomination there could be some ugly riots. Who pays for that ?

I personally doubt he would be nominated again. Depending on what happens in the world of Trump, DeSantis might be it. But that's outside of my world of expertise.

But the economic impact of the RNC could be a good thing for Kansas City. Regardless of the politics, it would be a nice way to showcase the city to more people. Every Convention should be an opportunity to do as such - showcase the City in a nice way. Give it all you got in a way. Make a good impression and then hope people either move to the City, come back to visit, or (if they're real estate investors) invest in the City.

Political conventions don’t really showcase a city. Most people easily tune in to watch the acceptance speech and that’s it. And most of the coverage is going to be politics, not urbanism. Networks will have stock video showing scenes from the town and maybe will record from a prominent spot but it’s not a tourism advertisement by any means.

The value is in introducing KC to people who have the ear of politicians so they want to fund our projects when we submit for a federal match, or want to keep them in a bill as an earmark. The biggest value would be to show the state that when they spend money to make KC better they as state-level politicians gain these big ticket events they want too.

What I would like to see is if we got a convention, it was the most low key thing ever. Keep is small outside of the arena.
We want things to be crazy because we got the World Cup, not because we have police tear gassing protestors again.

[moderne]

KC got tremendous positive press coverage in 1976. Both in network TV and print media. Back then that was all the media there was. Time, Newsweek, and U.S. World all had several separate articles about the city along with photos and maps. Crown Center and the airport were new and believe it not the airport got glowing remarks. The Muehlbach was the RNC HQ while Ford was at the Westin and Reagan at the Alameda. Transportation was even more problematical then with Kemper Arena not walkable from downtown. One delegation complained about being in a hotel in the middle of a cornfield(it was the airport Hilton). They even had people in the Chatham on Broadway which several renovations ago was a retiree apartment hotel. Some had to be bused to hotels in Topeka. Time compared the fountains to diamond studs in the steamy town. A foreign reporter after visiting the Board of Trade said there were now only 2 powers in the world: Saudi Arabia and Kansas City. It was the most exiting time I ever experienced in KC. They even brought in out of town hookers. It was near impossible to walk on Main in midtown without being solicited. I think the only protest group were some vets encamped at the Liberty Memorial. Since it was the GOP there were a lot of swanky parties in Mission Hills, Ward Pkwy and the Walnuts.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Honestly not a bad draw, occupancy like that would definitely help give a jolt to the hospitality downtown for sure

To offset that would be the amount of downtime T-Mobile Center would have for convention set-up and tear-down. T-Mobile would likely be unavailable for other uses for 3 months or more.

Would it actually be out of use that long? I can’t imagine it would be more than a month start to finish

Yes, it can be. I worked on presentation by the City for the 88 and 92 conventions and if memory is correct that was the approximate down time. There is a huge stage to be built, wires to run, press interview areas to construct along with many other things. And there is a week of the convention then everything has to be taken down and removed. A convention center has many points of entry and exit whereas an arena has but one where trucks and materials can use.

[AlkaliAxel]

If Trump wins the nomination there could be some ugly riots. Who pays for that ?

I personally doubt he would be nominated again. Depending on what happens in the world of Trump, DeSantis might be it. But that's outside of my world of expertise.

But the economic impact of the RNC could be a good thing for Kansas City. Regardless of the politics, it would be a nice way to showcase the city to more people. Every Convention should be an opportunity to do as such - showcase the City in a nice way. Give it all you got in a way. Make a good impression and then hope people either move to the City, come back to visit, or (if they're real estate investors) invest in the City.

If he runs, he will 100% be the nominee. They’ll probably clear the field for him.

[Highlander]

To offset that would be the amount of downtime T-Mobile Center would have for convention set-up and tear-down. T-Mobile would likely be unavailable for other uses for 3 months or more.

Would it actually be out of use that long? I can’t imagine it would be more than a month start to finish

Yes, it can be. I worked on presentation by the City for the 88 and 92 conventions and if memory is correct that was the approximate down time. There is a huge stage to be built, wires to run, press interview areas to construct along with many other things. And there is a week of the convention then everything has to be taken down and removed. A convention center has many points of entry and exit whereas an arena has but one where trucks and materials can use.

That's marginally more than the average big name act of today would require for a show. Not sure why it would take as long in today's world when so much of this stuff is prefab and readily available.

[Link2]

Would it actually be out of use that long? I can’t imagine it would be more than a month start to finish

Yes, it can be. I worked on presentation by the City for the 88 and 92 conventions and if memory is correct that was the approximate down time. There is a huge stage to be built, wires to run, press interview areas to construct along with many other things. And there is a week of the convention then everything has to be taken down and removed. A convention center has many points of entry and exit whereas an arena has but one where trucks and materials can use.

That's marginally more than the average big name act of today would require for a show. Not sure why it would take as long in today's world when so much of this stuff is prefab and readily available.

The 2016 bid specified exclusive access to the arena for the RNC 6 weeks prior to the event for setup and 10 days following for teardown. In total the arena would be out of service for event hosting for at least two months.

[earthling]

^If the case, would expect RNC/DNC to pay for those lost 2 months. If not, certainly would need to weigh that loss in benefits. As polarized as politics has become, might not be worth it. OTOH, there's desperation for any conference at this point.

[FangKC]

It's more than just the arena though. Two lost months of potential concert spinoff revenue would also impact hotels, bars, and restaurants. Of course, it would all depend on how many concerts would be lost during that time.

There is also a risk/benefit analysis that needs to be considered. If Trump is a factor, there could possibly be rioting similar to what happened in Ferguson, Mo. There are a couple of possible scenarios where things could go bad. Trump is under federal indictment, gets a strong challenger, and doesn't have enough delegates to win the nomination before the convention. It's a brokered convention where Trump doesn't end up being the nominee. Trump gins up his supporters claiming that it was stolen from him, and they turn violent and trash T-Mobile Center. Kansas City police can't quash the riot early and downtown gets trashed. P&L businesses are firebombed and remain closed for months making repairs.

Second scenario: There are anti-Trump protests downtown. They are met with countering pro-Trump supporters. Missouri allows open-carry, and concealed-carry, without permits, and many Trumpies will be packing. Things turn ugly fast and riots break out. Kansas City police are quickly overwhelmed and businesses get trashed. The Missouri National Guard is called in. People end up dead and Kansas City is the backdrop to all of it.

Either way, when residents see that KCPD can't protect downtown property, demand for apartments plummets. A couple of remaining employers decide to leave downtown. It won't matter that it's an unfair perception. It will be the perception among many.

I say skip 2024, and aim for 2028.

[aknowledgeableperson]

That's marginally more than the average big name act of today would require for a show. Not sure why it would take as long in today's world when so much of this stuff is prefab and readily available.

If you have seen a convention lately the stage for it is very different than a concert stage. One thing to remember a concert stage is designed to be built and taken down quickly - in other words hours. A convention stage is a custom built item and way bigger.
As Link2 stated "The 2016 bid specified exclusive access to the arena for the RNC 6 weeks prior to the event for setup and 10 days following for teardown. In total the arena would be out of service for event hosting for at least two months." And don't forget the week for the convention.