Officials Admit RNC Issues, But Say Event Was Success

Fiserv Forum on Friday, July 12. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Did the Republican National Convention deliver a $200 million economic impact to Milwaukee as convention promoters long touted?

An actual figure is expected later this year, but key data points are starting to trickle out. Meanwhile, at least one business owner is asking the city never to pursue such an event again and Common Council members are also asking questions.

Visit Milwaukee CEO Peggy Williams-Smith told the Common Council’s Steering & Rules Committee Monday she believes the convention was a success.

“I also want to say that I know not every business in Milwaukee saw the benefits from this convention,” said Williams-Smith. “And while I am sorry about that, we know that the impact I am going to share with you goes beyond economics and will help to put our city into the spotlight for years.” Reports during the convention highlighted how many businesses outside of the hard security perimeter were seeing lackluster business.

Downtown hotel revenue, according to industry analyst STR, surged by almost $15 million as average daily room rates jumped 157% to $507.81 when comparing the convention week to the same week in 2023. Expanding the hotel revenue to all of Milwaukee County, a $20 million increase was seen, as total revenue increased from $10.4 million in 2023 to $30.5 million during the RNC.

AT&T also invested $12.4 million in its cellular data network said Williams-Smith, calling it “an investment that continues to benefit residents, in addition to the visitors in town during convention week.”

Williams-Smith said she heard many stories of restaurants and other organizations receiving business in the lead up to the convention. That includes revenue from the convention employees who moved to Milwaukee for the two years leading up to the convention. “It extends well beyond the hotels,” said the tourism executive.

The $75 million federal security grant is also being counted in the economic impact. Most of it went to pay the salaries of officers, many of whom were not from Milwaukee, and associated costs to house and feed them. But mayoral chief of staff Nick deSiato said $6.8 million in grant-funded equipment will be left for the city. That includes 250 Kevlar helmets, 60 police bicycles, 11 vans, three fire engines, other medical equipment, a new mobile command post and a remotely operated vehicle.

The Milwaukee 2024 Host Committee awarded $40,000 in grants in September, with $10,000 each to Fisher House Wisconsin, Kingdom Prep Lutheran High School, Notre Dame School of Milwaukee and Veterans Community Project. DeSiato and Williams-Smith said more grants are expected to be awarded as the nonpartisan nonprofit organization finalizes its expenses. The committee raised more than $85 million to host the event.

A full report on the convention is anticipated to be released later this year as additional data is collected. “This process takes longer than anyone would like,” said Williams-Smith. Oxford Economics, which has previously analyzed past political conventions, will produce a formal report.

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, who is leading the council’s push for details, asked for the final report to include a geographic breakdown and diversity data. “I just want us, as a council, in case we’re asked again to sign on to anything like this, to be aware of its impact. And where things might not have been how we wanted it to be, or we might not have achieved the goals we were going to achieve, that we recognize that and that we work differently in the future to better achieve those goals,” said Coggs. A 2022 council amendment to the host agreement sought a $6 million payment, but the request was dropped.

“I absolutely agree,” said Williams-Smith.

“It didn’t trickle into the neighborhoods,” said Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic of the economic impact.

In an email to Dimitrijevic, LuLu Cafe & Bar owner Cameryne Roberts said the RNC didn’t result in a business boom. “For what it’s worth, the RNC was a complete bust for us and most of the other Bay View business owners I spoke with, not to mention those in other parts of town,” wrote Roberts, before calling Republicans “chicken sh!t snowflakes.”

An email to Ald. Robert Bauman also indicates the RNC was damaging to the Bastille Days Festival, which was held the weekend before the convention during a period when the security perimeter was being installed.

“The RNC likely hurt our festival… and is now at real risk of not being able to come back again next year,” wrote East Town Association Executive Director Eddie Sturkey. The Department of Public Works previously revealed that The Hop streetcar, which bisects the festival at Cathedral Square Park and often sees its peak ridership during the festival, actually saw a 22% year-over-year decrease.

“I think that was one of the key takeaways: communicating expectations better,” said DeSiato. He said the security perimeter for the event makes the event substantially different from events like the Harley-Davidson Homecoming celebration.

DeSiato said many city departments, including the Milwaukee Police Department, grew their capacity to handle large events, including the ability to interface with other agencies. “The relationships we developed were real,” said DeSiato, who formerly was chief of staff for the Milwaukee Police Department.

Police Shooting

The committee also reviewed the fatal police shooting of Sam Sharpe. On a Near West Side street more than a half mile from the convention, five Columbus, Ohio police officers intervened in an altercation, shooting Sharpe.

Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said an outside investigation is still underway, but he realizes MPD should have assigned local officers to accompany outside agencies that were patrolling “zones” outside of the convention itself.

“We should have had a Milwaukee police officer with these groups and this particular responsibility,” said the chief. He said the outside officers were assigned areas bordering the RNC not to respond to standard calls for service, but to respond to security-related situations.

Coggs asked why local officers hadn’t been paired with the groups.

“Didn’t think about it,” admitted Norman. “I will be very honest, my eyes were looking at more of the protest zones and areas were it was being considered for potential protests… I don’t believe anybody on the team thought that this was going to be an issue.”

Coggs, Ald. Scott Spiker and Council President José G. Pérez lamented that the city spent a substantial amount of time discussing security, only for the police shooting to happen well outside of the convention and without the presence of an MPD officer familiar with the area. Ald. Andrea Pratt said she wanted a report on other interactions between city residents and outside agencies.

Norman said there were 14 arrests related to the RNC, with nine for municipal citations. He said some offenses included people using false credentials and attempting to climb a fence.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this article listed the wrong comparison year for hotel data, but gave the correct data.

Related Legislation: File 240505