CLT Host 2020 Says Officials With The City Of Jacksonville Confirm That The Republican National Convention Is Moving To Jacksonville, F.L.

June 12, 2020

AP, Caryn Little,

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FILE - In this July 21, 2016, file photo Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, center left, walks with vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana as confetti and balloons fall during celebrations after Trump's acceptance speech on the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. The coronavirus pandemic is forcing Democrats and Republicans to take a close look at whether they'll be able to move forward as planned this summer with conventions that typically kick off the general election season. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
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FILE - In this July 21, 2016, file photo, confetti and balloons fall during celebrations after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's acceptance speech on the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. President Donald Trump demanded Monday, May 25, 2020, that North Carolina's Democratic governor sign off “immediately” on allowing the Republican National Convention to move forward in August with full attendance despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Trump's tweets Monday about the RNC, planned for Charlotte, come just two days after the North Carolina recorded its largest daily increase in positive cases yet. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

CLT Host 2020 released the following statement regarding the Republican National Convention’s move to Jacksonville, Florida.

“Confirmation by the city of Jacksonville that the Republican National Convention has moved is devastating news for the thousands of people who live in our community and work at our hotels, entertainment venues and small businesses expecting a boost from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our good faith efforts to carry out our obligations under agreements made two years ago have been met with broken promises and disregard of the significant commitment from many partners across our region. We need to stop pretending there’s any part of the convention that will remain in Charlotte. Unfortunately, the convention has moved to Jacksonville due to decisions beyond our control.”

The Latest:

It appears the Republican National Convention is moving from Charlotte, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida, according to the Charlotte 2020 Host Committee. They sent a statement to WCCB after hearing the news:

“We have learned from news reports that the Republican National Committee has moved the convention from Charlotte to Jacksonville, Florida. Though there have been some conversations about business meetings being held in our city, nothing has been confirmed to us. This decision is in clear violation of the agreements made with the City of Charlotte, the County of Mecklenburg, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, and the Charlotte Host Committee. Unfortunately, this action most directly impacts our hospitality and tourism partners, small businesses, and vendors counting on the economic impact of the promised events.”

The City of Charlotte released the following statement:

“The City Attorney and members of his staff have been meeting regularly with the legal representatives of the Republican National Committee and other parties to the convention agreements. The City of Charlotte remains willing to work in good faith to complete its contractual obligations under the terms of the two Convention agreements. The City has not been officially informed of the RNC’s intent to relocate the convention. Considering the media reports of the RNC’s apparent unilateral decision to relocate a substantial portion of the convention to Jacksonville, an immediate discussion with the RNC and our partners regarding contractual obligations and remedies resulting from this apparent decision is required.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Original Story (Posted June 5, 2020):

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump won’t accept his party’s nomination in North Carolina, but the Republican National Committee confirmed Thursday that it would still hold meetings in Charlotte.

“The RNC’s Executive Committee has voted unanimously to allow the official business of the national convention to continue in Charlotte,” said a statement from Michael Ahrens, the RNC’s communications director. “Many other cities are eager to host the president’s acceptance of the nomination, and we are currently in talks with several of them to host that celebration.”

Republican officials visited Nashville on Thursday and plan to tour other major cities in the coming days. The RNC’s top considerations to host Trump include Orlando, Florida; Jacksonville, Florida; New Orleans, Dallas and Phoenix.

For the last week, the national party has sought to placate Trump with reassurances he’ll be able to speak to a full capacity crowd, while simultaneously working to uphold its agreement with the city of Charlotte.

Gov. Roy Cooper, D-N.C., has fought with Trump privately and publicly by refusing to commit to lifting terms of an executive order he signed limiting indoor gatherings to 10 people. By Tuesday night, Trump tweeted that Cooper’s inaction “forced” him to speak elsewhere.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized North Carolina for adopting what he considers a “default no” to hosting the convention at full capacity.

“My view would be it should be a default yes, and then as we get closer, you can make determinations on how you do it,” DeSantis told reporters Wednesday.

Cooper defended his actions at a Thursday news conference.

“We want the convention here,” Cooper said. “We think it’s good for North Carolina. We’re not going to guarantee something that we know could hurt the health and the safety of North Carolinians.”

The city of Charlotte has already spent $14 million prepping for the convention, which it expects to get reimbursed through a grant. City Attorney Patrick Baker told reporters Wednesday he expected the RNC to keep its convention in Charlotte because he believes all other parties have held up their end of the bargain thus far.

GOP convention leaders met with Charlotte officials on Thursday morning to discuss how they will all proceed. The city said in a statement that the RNC confirmed their plan “to locate the entirety of the business portion of the convention in Charlotte,” but that some events that were originally set to take place in Charlotte would be relocated to a city outside of North Carolina. The city said they’ll meet again with convention and RNC leaders on Monday.