GOP leaders should choose Dallas for its 2016 convention because the city has plenty of hotel rooms, has the ability to raise enough funding, is centrally located, and has a proven track record of hosting big events.
Those are some of the highlights of the city's proposal to host the Republican Convention. Dallas officials have kept a tight lid on details -- until now. Today, various Dallas representatives are in Washington to make their pitch. They include Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau President Phillip Jones and retired U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. A press conference is being held this morning in Washington to discuss the city's presentation.
Dallas’ glitzy, 72-page big bid document released this morning reminds Republicans that Big D hosted Ronald Reagan and the party’s convention in 1984.
It boasts of Dallas being the second fastest-growing city in the country and a top-five destination for meetings and conventions.
Dallas claims to have the capacity to assemble a host committee capable of generating more than $60 million in convention funding.
Under one bolded headline, “It’s All About Location,” Dallas touts a central location between both coasts and 14 entertainment districts where convention goers would have “fun and unforgettable experiences.”
Six other cities are competing for the convention: Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Denver, Phoenix, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.
The site selection committee will visit the finalist cities in late spring. The city to host the 2016 RNC Convention will be named this fall.
Watch this video from the Dallas committee
Welcome to Dallas from The Studio @ Weber Shandwick on Vimeo.
Here are some highlights of the city’s pitch:
- “Dallas has the capacity and experience to assemble a worldclass Host Committee capable of robust Texas-sized fundraising, that will generate more than $60 million in convention funding.”
- “Dallas’ robust hotel packages ensure delegates and attendees multiple price points and brands within a tight and highly effective hotel room block.”
- “Easily accessible — Dallas is centrally located and a short, four-hour or less plane ride from nearly every major U.S. city. DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field offer, combined, more than 2,000 flights daily, with an integrated light rail to and from the convention venue.”
- “Dallas’ proven hospitality community values and understands large, complex convention needs and successfully supported Super Bowl XLV in 2011 and the NCAA Men’s Final Four in April 2014. Since November 2003, the number of major conventions booked annually for Dallas has swelled from eight to 31.”
Read the presentation
City of Dallas' presentation to GOP leaders for 2016 Republican Convention
(Photo credit: American Airlines Center photo by Jim Epler, Flickr)
