Milwaukee's compact footprint a key consideration for Republican National Convention planning

Attendees at this summer's Republican National Convention in downtown Milwaukee will have less than a half mile to walk between the event spaces of the Fiserv Forum and the Baird Center directly to the south.

Other event venues, restaurants and entertainment will also be just an amble or a short drive away.

While this layout might seem like no big deal to an average Milwaukeean, the city's size and the venues' close proximity are important considerations in planning for transportation, hotel accommodations and more when compared to larger host cities, according to those who have been involved in planning Republican and Democratic national conventions.

The nominee, of course, will also play a major role in the tenor of the event.

Ultimately, the way these pieces come together will determine how the tens of thousands of visitors, including politicians, delegates, their staffs and members of the media experience Wisconsin's largest city — and what they tell those back home.

"When they go back and talk, that's the best marketing the City of Milwaukee is going to have for getting future such type conventions coming to the city," said Steve King, 2024 RNC Host Committee board member and former chief executive officer.

Minimizing time on buses adds to experience

Nobody wants to spend hours on a bus each day.

In Milwaukee, that's easier to avoid.

The city's convention "complex" with the three main venues right in a row minimizes the number of stops needed to transport people from hotels to the venues and from one venue to the next, King said.

Once they've arrived from their various hotels, attendees and media members will be able to walk from the Fiserv Forum, where the main televised events will take place, to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Baird Center, he said.

"The more you can minimize stops during convention week, the better," he said. "It's better from a timing standpoint, it's better from a financial standpoint, it's better from a safety standpoint, and that's what really you're looking at in Milwaukee."

King drew comparisons between the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland and the July 15-18, 2024, convention in Milwaukee, saying the cities offer similar experiences.

Both in the Midwest and on the shores of a Great Lake, Milwaukee and Cleveland boast eating districts with fine restaurants and entertainment within walking distance of the arena, he said.

"You can draw some really good comparisons between Cleveland and Milwaukee, and most people will tell you that the Cleveland convention in 2016 was one of the best Republican conventions ever held," he said, citing transportation, food and the short travel time between venues within the city itself.

The importance of Milwaukee's walkability was echoed by Anne Hathaway, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee team that's organizing the event known as the Committee on Arrangements.

“Key facilities that are central to our convention landscape are located in a concentrated area in downtown Milwaukee. It’s our hope that delegates, media, and guests will be able to enjoy the cityscape on foot," she said in a statement. “We have already heard from many people who are planning events that the layout of Milwaukee is very appealing, and it will certainly be a positive for many of our guests in July.”

Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the concentration of RNC venues will be useful but that with all of the delegations needing places to eat, meet and stay, all RNC-related events won't be held in downtown.

"That's not to say that there won't be things elsewhere in the city," he said. "Certainly, there will be locations all around the city and really all around the region that will play host to RNC events."

A larger city can mean more hotel space

The close venues of the Republican convention in Milwaukee stand in contrast to the miles between key Democratic National Convention sites in Chicago a month later — though Chicago also has an advantage where hotel density is concerned.

Democrats have said convention activities will be located within a five-mile radius.

The United Center west of downtown will host the Aug. 19-22 convention, including official proceedings and primetime television events, while the McCormick Place convention center miles away on Lake Michigan will be the site of official party business, meetings and briefings. Democrats will have to shuttle people between the two locations, though Chicago also offers a variety of routes.

Downtown hotels will host delegates, according to the Democratic National Convention Committee.

The first thing that changes with a smaller city is the hotel footprint, according to an experienced convention planner for Democratic conventions. When Milwaukee was slated to host the Democratic National Convention in 2020, before it went largely virtual in the coronavirus pandemic, organizers had planned for delegations to stay as far south as Rosemont, Illinois by O'Hare International Airport. (Democrats also have larger delegations than Republicans.)

For the 2024 RNC, key hotels like the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino had already committed hotels rooms for the convention last year as convention organizers worked to secure 14,000 hotel rooms for five nights. About 95% of those rooms have been booked, Republican National Convention spokesperson Rachel Reisner said.

Hotels will be not only a place to sleep after long days but also meeting places and headquarters for the various delegations, organizers said previously.

In addition to Milwaukee, convention hotels will be located in Wauwatosa, Brookfield, Racine, Kenosha, Lake Geneva, the Sheboygan area and downtown Madison, the Journal Sentinel previously reported.

King framed the distance to some hotels for the Republican convention as more of an inconvenience than a disadvantage, saying mid-sized cities also have other upsides when compared to larger cities.

The U.S. Secret Service, the lead planning agency for the event, declined to say how security perimeters and zones differ depending on the size of the city and the distance between the main convention venues.

The security plan including the perimeter for the RNC is still in development, according to the Secret Service.

Nominee will also play a key role in tenor of event

A party's nominee is also key to shaping a political convention.

Former President Donald Trump is leading former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the race for the Republican nomination to take on President Joe Biden in November.

A Trump nomination would create two significantly different conventions between the Republicans and Democrats, said Matt Hill, spokesperson for the Democratic National Convention.

"We are focused on building a convention for President Biden and Democrats to tell our story to the American people about our proven track record of accomplishments and the stakes of this next election," he said in a statement. "We expect Americans will see a split screen about the choice of this next election: Democrats working for the mainstream and Republicans only focused on the MAGA extreme."

Republicans pushed back.

"The Republican nominee will give Wisconsin and American voters the energy and feeling of hope they’ve been missing," said Elise Dickens, Committee on Arrangements chief executive officer. "While Democrats continue grasping at straws trying to excite their base with a sleepy president, the RNC is working to put on an unforgettable convention that will showcase to the world the Republican nominee who will put America on the right path forward."

Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.

THANK YOU: Subscribers' support makes this work possible. Help us share the knowledge by buying a gift subscription.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's compact footprint a key consideration for RNC planning