--- title: "Republican National Convention: Cleveland’s Challenges" id: "32604" type: "post" slug: "republican-national-convention-clevelands-challenges" published_at: "2016-03-24T21:29:52+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T15:46:08+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/03/24/republican-national-convention-clevelands-challenges/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/03/24/republican-national-convention-clevelands-challenges.md" excerpt: "Serious event planning is underway for events around the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this July. Plus: The head of a major airline group offers his two cents on industry regulation." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "conventions" - "event planning" - "IT security" - "Meetings" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Republican National Convention: Cleveland’s Challenges Politics aside, the [2016 Republican National Convention (opens in a new tab)](http://convention.gop/about) , taking place in Cleveland in July, presents some unique challenges for event planners. After all, such a large event—50,000 people [are expected to attend (opens in a new tab)](http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2016/01/17/Cleveland-getting-ready-for-Republican-National-Convention-in-July/stories/201601100001) the GOP convention, along with 15,000 media, other outside political attendees, and possible protesters—[raises several security concerns (opens in a new tab)](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/republican-convention-security-cleveland-brussels-221092) , particularly in light of already-tense protests at rallies and two terrorist attacks abroad in the past four months. “Our goal is to develop and implement, with the numerous participating agencies, a seamless security plan that will create a safe and secure environment for our protectees, other dignitaries, event participants and the general public,” Secret Service Spokesman Kevin Dye told *Politico*. Of particular concern is managing what could be a large number of protesters. Past Republican conventions have seen protest numbers from 1,000 in Tampa, Florida, in 2012, to 100,000 in New York City in 2004. To prepare for a potential influx, Cleveland is not only preparing its 5,000 officers but also is calling for additional support from regional cities. In addition, the city has $50 million in federal support at hand and, with that, it’s [looking to purchase (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cleveland.com/rnc-2016/index.ssf/2016/03/cleveland_seeking_to_buy_riot.html) 2,000 sets of riot gear and security steel barriers. Beyond security, others are working to ensure that business as usual goes on during the convention. For example, [local hotels (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/01/most_cleveland_hotels_already.html) , many of which are completely sold out due to convention-goers, are doing their best to accommodate everyone. ### Quote of the Day > IATA CEO Interview: ‘We’ve Got to Be Very Careful We Don’t Re-Regulate the Industry’ [https://t.co/LsGi9LSjSU (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/LsGi9LSjSU) > [pic.twitter.com/GDawmeSBnN (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/GDawmeSBnN) > > — Skift (@skift) [March 23, 2016 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/skift/status/712594818979995650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Take a look into this man’s thoughts.** On the topic of setting universal industry standards, [International Air Transport Association (opens in a new tab)](http://www.iata.org/Pages/default.aspx) Director General and CEO Tony Tyler argued that it was important to take care on regulatory issues. “We’ve got to be very careful that we don’t re-regulate the industry. There are some warning bells ringing in the U.S. where there are legislators saying that the industry should be re-regulated on these kinds of things. I think that would be a very bad idea,” [he said to travel site Skift (opens in a new tab)](http://skift.com/2016/03/23/iata-ceo-interview-weve-got-to-be-very-careful-we-dont-re-regulate-the-industry/) . “The U.S. led the world in de-regulating the industry. Many, many years ago IATA used to get involved in defining the size of the sandwich in Economy class. All of that stuff has quite rightly been stripped away, and the market now determines these things. It’s the market that should be left to determine these things.” ### Links for Your Day **Expand your social strategy.** Content and social media managers shouldn’t just use Facebook and Twitter in building their social strategies, [nonprofit adviser Kivi Leroux Miller suggests (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2016/03/23/why-using-facebook-and-twitter-alone-isnt-smart/) . **Events these days require much more than a physical presence.** There’s this thing called a “digital integrated experience.” Adam Azor, the senior vice president of Jack Morton Worldwide, [writes of its importance for EventBrite (opens in a new tab)](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/blog/innovating-event-experiences-by-integrating-digital-ds00/) . **While focusing on today,** event planners have to look to the future. Kevin Jackson, the president of the UK chapter of the International Special Events Society (ISES), [takes a dive into what’s to come (opens in a new tab)](http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/how-the-event-industry-will-evolve) in the next two decades. A scene from the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa. (PBS Newshour/Flickr) [Patrick deHahn](https://associationsnow.com/author/patrick-dehahn/) Patrick deHahn is a contributor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/patrick-dehahn/) Tags: [#conventions](https://associationsnow.com/tag/conventions/) [#event planning](https://associationsnow.com/tag/event-planning/) [#IT security](https://associationsnow.com/tag/it-security/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [ArticleSavannah Celebrates Newly Expanded Convention CenterApril 22, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/04/22/savannah-celebrates-newly-expanded-convention-center/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Contract: Building Stronger Destination PartnershipsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-contract-building-stronger-destination-partnerships/) - [VideoMelvin Tennant, CAE, President & CEO of Meet Minneapolis, Welcomes You to Great Ideas 2026September 2, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/02/melvin-tennant-cae-president-ceo-of-meet-minneapolis-welcomes-you-to-great-ideas-2026/) - [VideoASAE TV Daily Recap: Final Day at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/24/asae-tv-daily-recap-final-day-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2016%2F03%2F24%2Frepublican-national-convention-clevelands-challenges%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !