Jacksonville’s mayor on Tuesday said the Republican National Convention won’t generate an expected $100 million and agreed that security plans need to be improved, reports Action News Jax.
“It’s clear it will not be that kind of economic activity with a scale back [because of the coronavirus]” Lenny Curry said during a news conference.
The event, which runs from Aug. 24-27, was moved from Charlotte, N.C., to Jacksonville over COVID-19 concerns. Curry in June touted a $100 million economic benefit from the city hosting a large portion of the convention and bragged in a video, “what city would take on the RNC with just 75 days to pull it off?”
But many Americans are expected to stay home amid a surge in coronavirus cases – more than 3.9 million people have been infected across the U.S. and more than 142,000 have died – and the convention will have just three days of events rather than the usual four.
“This is all looking to be a disaster,” Victor Matheson, an economist who has written about the economic impact of major events, told Action News.
“A scaled-down convention leaves you with a fraction of the economic impact but still all the costs and hassle associated with this,” he added.
Curry on Tuesday also said he wasn’t surprised that Sheriff Mike Williams warned that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is not prepared to provide adequate security for the event.
“He knows what he’s talking about clearly, so the position he takes is we are not prepared for this right now. Yes, I agree with him,” Curry said. “However, he’s also communicated that he’s continuing to work with the planners to configure this in a way that is safe and getting the resources that he needs.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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