RNC expected to bring $200 million economic boost to Milwaukee
Milwaukee's visitor's bureau says economic boom from Republican National Convention could exceed estimates due to inflation
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Hosting the Republican National Convention (RNC) is expected to pay off big for Milwaukee.
The visitor's bureau for the Wisconsin city says the convention is expected to bring an estimated $200 million economic boost to the area, based on studies of previous conventions in other cities, and the final figure for Milwaukee could be even higher given the high inflation the country has seen since 2020.
People attend the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The RNC said ahead of the convention that upwards of 50,000 guests from across the country would flock to the gathering, including delegates, who officially nominated former President Trump as the GOP's 2024 nominee for president, with Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.
And it's not just Republican diehards who came for the event.
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Visit Milwaukee CEO Peggy Williams-Smith told FOX Business in an interview Wednesday that reporters are everywhere, spending money just like other visitors.
"I would say for every regular attendee wanting to go to the convention, there are two journalists, and I think that number has spiked after the events of Saturday," Williams-Smith said, referring to the assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend. She reiterated, "You can't go anywhere without running into someone with a press badge."
Protesters march near the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July, 15, 2024. (Joel Angel Juarez for the Washington Post via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Protesters have also flocked to demonstrate outside the RNC, and some 4,000 law enforcement from around the country have poured into the city to assist with security – and all of them need to stay somewhere and eat and drink.
Police stand guard outside the Republican National Convention on the third day of the event, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Milwaukee tourism chief said the hotels and restaurants in the area are packed, and the uptick in business for the region began last week when the Republican National Committee held its summer meeting in the city.
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Many attendees stayed over the weekend and explored the city, and some plan on sticking around a few days after the convention wraps up. Others will leave Milwaukee but check out other parts of the state, like Lake Geneva or Madison.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, speaks at the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
During his address to the RNC on Thursday, Trump gave Milwaukee a shout-out for its hospitality and touted the economic boost the convention brought to the state.
"By the way, Wisconsin, we are spending over $250 million here, creating jobs and other economic development all over the place," the GOP presidential nominee said. "So I hope you will remember this in November and give us your vote. I am trying to buy your vote. I’ll be honest about that."
Milwaukee is no stranger to big events, but the RNC is the largest convention it has ever held, and just the news that the brewing town would be handling the GOP's election-year get-together boosted its convention business.
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Williams-Smith said that from the time Milwaukee first announced in 2022 that it would be hosting the 2024 RNC, the city's event leads doubled over the next year. So far in 2024, leads are pacing 23% ahead of last year.