SAN ANTONIO – Visit San Antonio has made a last-minute push to host the Republican National Convention in the Alamo City, but it appears the event is headed east to Florida.
According to several reports, Jacksonville is reportedly the top pick to host the RNC.
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On Saturday, Visit San Antonio President and CEO Cassandra Matej sent a letter (see document below) to City Manager Erik Walsh, saying local business leaders had approached Visit SA about the Alamo City hosting the convention.
Matej sent KSAT the following statement:
“Visit San Antonio was not approached by the RNC about making a bid for the conference. We have been receiving several calls from our stakeholders based on all the media coverage. As Visit San Antonio’s mission is to drive visitation to the city, and in light of how hard the tourism and hospitality industry has been hit in recent months, we decided to gauge the city’s interest in whether we should pursue a significant piece of business for our economy. However we understand an announcement of another city selected is scheduled for later this week.”
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said the county received a call regarding the use of the AT&T Center for the RNC. He said he thought it was a “terrible idea.” Read more about what he had to say by clicking here.
The convention is expected to draw about 20,000 visitors and pump about $50 million to the host city's economy.
Charlotte, North Carolina, was originally going to host the RNC. President Donald Trump started looking for other cities after the state refused to guarantee the event could be held without restrictions because of ongoing concerns over the novel coronavirus.