Countless hours went into preparing for the Convention in Cleveland.  Back on July 8, 2014, the Republican National Committee announced that its Site Selection Committee had voted to recommend Cleveland to host its 2016 convention; the full RNC approved the selection on Aug. 8, 2014 (+).  The RNC Committee on Arrangements started work in 2015 to prepare for the gathering of 2,472 delegates.  The Cleveland 2016 Host Committee raised contributions and organized volunteers and the City of Cleveland, under Mayor Frank G. Jackson played an integral role.   continues...

...continued from above
In the months leading up to the Convention and particularly in April 2016 there was intense speculation about whether the frontrunner Donald Trump would obtain the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination.  There was much manoeuvering surrounding the selection of delegates in congressional district and state conventions, particularly by the Cruz campaign.  With his win in the May 3 Indiana primary Trump became the presumptive nominee and talk of a contested convention faded. 

Then there was considerable talk about the possibility of a "convention coup."  A movement percolated for several months pressing for delegates to be allowed to vote their consciences, undergirded by an argument that the delegates are in fact unbound.   In May several Illinois delegates started an effort called "Save Our Party," proposing to, "Organize separately as delegates to the 2016 Republican convention at an undisclosed location until such a time as we can not be held to a vote for any particular candidate (+)."  In June Courageous Conservatives PAC, which formed in Oct. 2015 to support Ted Cruz's candidacy, launched a petition campaign demanding that delegates be allowed to vote their conscience (1, 2).  "Free the Delegates," an effort led by Kendal Unruh and Regina Thomson, delegates from Colorado, came to the fore in mid-June (>).  "Delegates Unbound," a 501(c)(4) headed by M. Dane Waters and Eric O'Keefe, ran TV ads in late June (+).  Virginia delegate Caroll B. Correll even took the question to court; at issue were both RNC rules and Virginia statute, Section 545(D), which states in part that "delegates and alternates shall be bound to vote on the first ballot at the national convention for the candidate receiving the most votes in the primary."  The court found that the statute imposed "an unconstitutional burden on his [Correll's] First Amendment rights of free political speech and political association [PDF]."  Nonetheless, the Trump campaign hailed the ruling as a great victory (+). To get the unbinding question to the full convention required support of one-quarter of the members of the Rules Committee (28 people).  At the closely watched  Rules Committee meetiing on July 14 the effort fell short (+).  Delegates working on the unbinding effort sought to pursue the matter during the Convention's opening business session on July 18, and it looked like they had enough state delegations to at least cause a roll call vote until three state delegations reversed course under murky circumstances. 

The Platform Committee (formally known as the Committee on Resolutions) was announced in late May and finished work during its meeting of July 11-12 (+).  The Trump imprint is seen in addition of languange on points such as building a wall, a trade section emphasizing the need to negotiate better trade deals, a call for repeal of the Johnson Amendment affecting 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations including religious groups, and reintroduction of Glass-Steagall.  Most of the work was done behind the scenes, in contrast to the Democrats more open process.

The NBA Cleveland Caveliers basketball team's run into the playoff finals created a challenge for the Convention team; Convention organizers only received the keys to the arena on June 17 (after the Caveliers pulled to a 3-3 tie in a game at Quicken Loans Arena on June 16).  This gave the convention team about a month to prepare the arena; by comparision in 2012 the transfer occurred about 40 days before the start of the convention (+).  Another major logistical challenge, the distance between the media center in the Huntington Convention Center and the convention hall at Quicken Loans Arena, was addressed by a shuttle system which wound through the secure area.

Leading up to the convention, Trump was dismissive of the notion of having political speech after political speech and said he wanted something more entertaining, for example featuring sports figures or holding a "winners' evening."  Neither of those ideas came into fruition, but the convention was unique in the extensive use of Trump's family.  Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort outlined four goals for the convention: to tell who Donald Trump is, the personal story; to highlight the failures of the Obama-Clinton  administration; an indictment of Hillary Clinton as the ultimate establishment candidate; and to unify the party.  To do this the campaign used family and personal acquaintances, people affected by world events, and political figures.  Also of note were the absences; various Republican officials seeking distance from Trump did not attend the Convention, most notably home state Gov. John Kasich, and Sen. Ted Cruz's non-endorsement was a major story.  Many of the speakers emphasized the need to defeat Hillary Clinton, exemplified by Gov. Chris Christie's "indictment" or former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's fiery speech.  Delegates took to chanting "lock her up."

Democrats set up a counter-convention presence, holding morning briefings a few blocks away from the media center.  Under the theme "Better Than This," they played up the notion that Trump is an unqualified and dangerous figure. 

Delegates, alternates and guests had full days, typically starting with their state delegation breakfasts (+).  In addition to the official activities, they could attend hundreds of events, receptions, forums and parties organized by Republican, conservative and allied groups  Vendors hawked pro-Trump and anti-Clinton T-shirts, buttons and hats; Trump bobbleheads were a popular item. 

There were also daily protests.  Incidents of violence at several Trump appearances during the primaries had raised concerns about what might happen in Cleveland.  When the nomination was still in doubt, Trump supporters planned a "Stop the Steal" rally and march on July 18 (+); after Trump became the presumptive nominee this evolved into an America First Unity Rally.  A major nonpolitical event, Circle the City With Love, took place the day before the convention started.  A "Coalition to Stop Trump and March on the RNC" planned a major protest on July 18.  On July 20 immigration activists put up banner wall "around Trump's hateful politics at his convention."  CODEPINK managed to get several activists inside the Q, where they attempted to disrupt speeches.  Public Square in downtown housed the officially sanctioned speakers platform and was a center of activity for groups and individuals seeking to make a point or a few dollars.  Both conventions were designated National Special Security Events and dozens of law enforcement agencies coordinated on security operations.  The City of Cleveland received a $49.9 million grant from the Department of Justice on April 1, 2016 [PDF].  A host of regulations (+) were in place for the Official Event Zone [PDF] during the convention period.  Area hospitals spent months preparing for the possibility of a mass casualty event, whether due to terrorist attack or violent protests (+).  Despite the worries the convention turned out to be surprisingly peaceful, and there were only about two dozen arrests.

Finally, some fifteen thousand media representatives from news organizations big and small, local, national and international covered the activity at the Convention in Cleveland as Donald Trump officially became the Republican nominee.

Following the Convention, the Host Committee commissioned two analyses, using different methodologies, of the convention's economic impact on the region (+).  The Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University used a micro analysis based on questionnaires completed by visitors and estimated $67.8 million in direct spending and a total economic impact of $142.2 million in a seven-county region [PDF].  Tourism Economics used a macro analysis based on an economic impact model and found $110.1 million in direct spending and $188.4 million total economic impact on the region [PDF]. Also of note, in June 2017 the Public Relations Society of America awarded Destination Cleveland two Silver Anvil awards for "their work to improve Cleveland's narrative as a place to live, work and do business, play and visit through the region's hosting of the 2016 Republican National Convention (+)."