MILWAUKEE — The Republican National Convention is quickly approaching, with the first day about 14 months away. Outside of politics, the majority of the “hype” around this event coming to Milwaukee is its’ potential economic impact.
According to our news partners at the Milwaukee Business Journal, the event is expected to bring over 45,000 visitors to Milwaukee in addition to the potential of over $200 million in economic impact.
However, David Gilbert, 2016 Republican National Convention Host Committee President, explained that these estimates are arbitrary until the event actually happens.
“All you can really go by is historically what’s happened,” said Gilbert. “Our results showed they were about what we thought they were going to be, maybe a little less.”
However, Gilbert emphasized that the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland offered a lot more than just dollars and visitors. According to Gilbert, this includes the actual well-being of the community and the community’s perception of the city.
“A lot of the benefit was above and beyond the dollars spent in our communities,” said Gilbert. “The convention has propelled the community in so many ways since then.”
Gilbert said there is no way of truly measuring that people are coming back to Cleveland since the RNC, however, hosting the RNC proves your city can host any sort of event.
You can listen to WTMJ’s Vince Vitrano and his full conversation with David Gilbert in the player above.
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