Kansas City, Phoenix, Denver also expected to bid
Nevada is launching a major campaign to bring the 2016 Republican National Convention to Las Vegas.
“This is what we do. We’re exceedingly good at it,” Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki said last month. “This is the perfect venue to host a national convention.”
While Las Vegas is known as the nation’s go-to convention city, it has never hosted a major party presidential convention. It hopes to see the kind of benefits enjoyed by Tampa, Florida, which generated more than $400 million in economic impact during the 2012 Republican convention, according to USA Today.
A political convention would likely bring about 50,000 delegates, news media and others to the city. But the convention is not a sure bet for Sin City. Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Cleveland also are courting the GOP, along with Columbus, Ohio, Denver and a number of other cities.
Krolicki said he doesn’t expect gambling to be off-putting to conservative members of the GOP. “The gaming is just standard fare whether you’re in New Orleans or Florida,” he said. “It’s part of the fabric and business community of most places that are looking to host the convention. Gaming is exceedingly mitigated at this point.”
Troy Stremming, chairman of the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association, said his city has plenty of wholesome attractions to offer in competition with Las Vegas.
“One thing you don’t see in Kansas City are mountains and oceans, but you see a lot of smiling, welcoming faces,” he says. “Sometimes you can be overlooked in these types of things. If given the chance, our goal is to let everyone across the country know what a welcoming city and beautiful place we are.”
