AUSTIN, Texas — It’s official: Charlotte will host the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Republican party officials made the announcement Friday after the RNC committee unanimously voted in favor of hosting the convention in the Queen City. Earlier this week, the site selection committee of the RNC voted unanimously in favor of Charlotte getting the event, making it all but official until Friday’s final vote.
RNC officials said they first contacted Charlotte leaders, as well as officials in 29 other cities, about hosting the event. In the letter, GOP officials provided an economic impact study conducted after the 2016 RNC in Cleveland. That study said that Cleveland raised $65 million and the RNC had a total economic impact of $180 million.
Republican officials are expected to vote around 10:30 Friday morning with a press conference following that vote. The final decision will come days after the site selection committee voted unanimously on awarding the 2020 RNC to Charlotte.
Mayor Vi Lyles and several other Charlotte leaders arrived in Austin, Texas Thursday to meet with members of the Republican National Committee. They were quick to heap praise upon Charlotte and its government.
“The more I get to Charlotte, the more I fall in love with the Queen City,” said one Republican official.
"Charlotte's a very nice city. It'll be important for the RNC to come to Charlotte. There are many misconceptions that people have about the Republican party and what we stand for. So it would be nice for people to see us at our best behavior. And we are a party that will pay our bill and not leave anybody like Duke energy in the whole," said Dr. Ada Fisher.
Experts say there was an economic impact of more than $163 million with the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Laura White with the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority says the potential of the 2020 RNC could be just as lucrative.
Try three times the amount of revenue generated by the CIAA basketball tournament.
“CIAA, on average, is about $50 million in economic impact, and so, that is typically our largest annual event in Charlotte,” White said. “It would be roughly three CIAAs.”