Nashville throws its hat into the ring:
Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. officials formally submitted the bid Dec. 8 to the Republican National Committee. That came after Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s office earlier requested they do so, the convention group’s president and CEO, Butch Spyridon, confirmed in a statement to the Times Free Press earlier this month.
Lee’s office also asked the visitor bureau to seek bid specifications from the Democratic National Committee, which has yet to provide them, according to Bonna Johnson, the Nashville convention bureau’s vice president of corporate communications.
Spyridon said “party leadership on both sides would be responsible for raising the necessary funds primarily from the private sector.”
While Kansas City takes a pass:
Just weeks after putting its name in the mix, Kansas City has withdrawn its bid to host the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Randall Landes, interim president and CEO of Visit KC, and Mayor Quinton Lucas sent a letter to the Republican National Convention’s Site Selection Committee chair in early November to “respectfully withdraw our destination.”
Lucas and Landes said the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft, which Kansas City is hosting, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Kansas City is also hoping to host, require significant resources.
