Buzz around Milwaukee has grown since landing the Republican National Convention | Opinion

In September 2021, the Republican National Committee asked Milwaukee to bid on its 2024 presidential nominating convention. At the time, it was hard to envision 50,000 delegates, including 15,000 media members filling our hotels, restaurants and bars.

Our hospitality community was still reeling from the devastating effects of the pandemic. We knew that convention business would rebound, but at the time it was only beginning to trickle back and we had yet to see the pent-up demand for leisure travel. Yes, we had won the right to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention — only to see most of the economic benefits fizzle out, again thanks to the pandemic.

But these are the kinds of decisions that require long-term vision. We had to put aside immediate challenges and lingering disappointment to think about the bigger picture: Who are we as a city, and what do we aspire to? What do we want to be known for?

Plus, we had an even more compelling case to make this time around: Thanks to the hard work of Wisconsin Center District President & CEO Marty Brooks and his board of directors, we had the promise of an expanded Baird Center to enhance our already significant existing advantages as a destination.

The value of hosting the RNC was clear, as was our capability to do so. The answer about whether we should bid was a resounding yes. Thanks to a region-wide effort with local elected officials like Mayor Johnson and County Executive Crowley, we won.

And as we enter convention week, the case for fully embracing this opportunity has only gotten stronger.

Republican convention has already had positive economic impact

Before a single delegate arrives in town, the ripple effect of winning the RNC has already added millions to Milwaukee’s bottom line — the cumulative economic impact of hosting a presidential debate, two RNC summer meetings and a steady stream of smaller meetings throughout the planning process. When we won the RNC, a small army of convention planners began moving to Milwaukee — paying rent, hosting meetings, luncheons and receptions.

We expect the total economic impact to be approximately $200 million. Hotels are full, and bars and restaurants are sure to follow. That is real money that is flowing into our city, starting right now. We can not put into words how important this is to local business owners and their employees.

But that’s just the start. We are already looking forward to the long-term boost that we will realize once we pull off a successful convention that leaves visitors raving about our city.

Start with infrastructure: There will be a lot of security around this week, and much of the equipment and systems built to ensure security during the convention will stay in place — making Milwaukee an even safer place to live and visit.

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Private investment is flowing as well. To cite one significant example, AT&T invested approximately $12.4 million to further strengthen its network in and around Fiserv Forum and downtown Milwaukee ahead of the convention — in addition to the more than $450 million the company has invested in network infrastructure in greater Milwaukee since 2019. Most of these upgrades, too, will stay in place after the convention is complete, improving our local networks for residents and visitors alike.

And then there’s the reputational boost that comes along with your city shining in an international spotlight. What might that look like? Consider Indianapolis, which has built a strong reputation for hosting major sports events. They didn’t just make that happen overnight. They took an existing strength and built on it over time, creating a snowball effect that has brought them everything from a Super Bowl in 2012 to the U.S. Olympic Swimming trials last month. Or Cleveland, which has hosted both NBA and MLB All-Star games in the years following the 2016 RNC, and will soon host the Pan-American Masters Games and, in just a few weeks, WWE’s Summer Slam. In addition to these events, Cleveland’s RNC spurred tourism development, which included attractions and hotels.

What if Milwaukee could build its own unique reputation for expertise and excellence in hosting major events?

What if I told you we already are?

Inquiries from meeting planners doubled since winning RNC bid

Since winning the RNC bid, inquiries from meeting planners to Visit Milwaukee’s sales team have doubled.

Read that again: Inquiries about hosting meetings in Milwaukee have doubled.

That ultimately means more conventions filling the Baird Center, and economic benefit from those visitors rippling through the hospitality community, which employs over 27,000 people in Milwaukee County.

Hosting events like Summerfest, the Northwestern Mutual convention and the Harley-Davidson Homecoming would test the resources and resolve of similar-sized cities. For us? That’s just a typical summer. Visitors to the Greater Milwaukee area set an all-time tourism spending record of $6.388 billion in 2023, breaking a record that was set the previous year. And while the 2020 DNC didn’t turn out to be the opportunity we all hoped for, remember that we still beat out Houston and Miami. People noticed.

Now hosting a successful RNC will become another significant proof point that Milwaukee is the place to be for big-time events.

We've been political foes. We're uniting to build trust in Wisconsin elections.

We all can play a role in maximizing this opportunity for Milwaukee. To the hospitality workers who will be hustling through long hours all week, and the thousands of people who volunteered, thank you!

For the rest of us, remember that downtown Milwaukee businesses are open all week for you, too. Come check out the scene and be a part of political history. And when you meet people who are visiting from out of town — yes, even if you might not necessarily agree with them on politics — please show them the incredible spirit of hospitality I see here every day.

It will help define us as a destination for decades.

Peggy Williams-Smith is the President and CEO of Visit Milwaukee.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Inquiries about booking events have doubled since winning RNC bid