Cincinnati also withdraws from the race
The Grand Old Party won’t be partying in Vegas in 2016.
The city of Las Vegas last week informed the Republican National Committee that it was withdrawing from the competition to host the party’s 2016 presidential convention.
The official letter, sent by Lieutenant Governor Brian K. Krolicki, said the city could not provide an arena to host the convention. But according to the New York Times, members of the city’s host committee cited a potential bidding war with Dallas as another reason for the withdrawal.
Revenue concerns might have been a factor, the Times added. In March, Congress voted to redirect funding normally spent on conventions to medical research.
Cincinnati also pulled out of the race. Officials there said the U.S. Bank Arena does not meet the requirements of the Republican National Committee, and the city also has insufficient room capacity, to the extent that a majority of attendees would have had to find accommodations in nearby Kentucky.
The Las Vegas host committee, which called itself LV2016, included a number of big guns, including Sheldon Adelson, who has donated millions to GOP candidates, and Steve Wynn, along with Washington political strategists well as lobbyists for Caesars and MGM casinos.
The Las Vegas committee did not completely fold their hand, however, stating that they would “defer our bid effort to the 2020 Republican National Convention,” when a new arena under construction by MGM Resorts and AEG will be completed.
