RNC Eyes Outdoor Amphitheater for Trump Jacksonville Speech

July 17, 2020by Francesca Chambers and David Smiley, Miami Herald (TNS)
RNC Eyes Outdoor Amphitheater for Trump Jacksonville Speech

WASHINGTON — With coronavirus cases in Florida surging, the Republican National Committee announced Thursday morning that it would limit attendance at the Jacksonville convention in August.

The RNC raised expectations last month that President Donald Trump would accept the GOP nomination on Aug. 27 before a packed VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in downtown Jacksonville. But RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced in a letter to convention delegates Thursday that attendance for Trump’s speech would be limited to delegates, a single guest for each, and alternates — a crowd of roughly 7,500, equal to about half of the capacity of the indoor VyStar arena.

“When we made these changes,” McDaniel wrote, referencing the move to Jacksonville, “we had hoped to be able to plan a traditional convention celebration to which we are all accustomed. However, adjustments must be made to comply with state and local health guidelines.”

Now, the convention’s featured events may not be held at the VyStar arena at all. Trump is tentatively expected to give his speech at Daily’s Place, a 5,500-person, 90,000-square-foot outdoor amphitheater with a roof, according to a source familiar with convention discussions. Those discussions include ideas intended to allow a larger crowd to view Trump’s speech.

The first lady and vice president are also expected, as of Thursday morning, to give their speeches on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26 at the same venue. McDaniel, in her Thursday letter, said admittance to the convention venue would be limited the first two days only to the party’s roughly 2,500 delegates.

Sources familiar with convention planning have stressed in recent days that details remain fluid.

McDaniel’s letter did not specify whether Trump’s speech would be held indoors, as originally planned, or at an outdoor space, as discussed by the Trump campaign and RNC officials amid Florida’s coronavirus outbreak. The Trump campaign directed questions about the convention to the RNC. Spokepersons for the RNC were not immediately available to provide comment on the changes beyond McDaniel’s letter, which also said, without giving any details, that there would be temperature checks and testing offered at the convention.

Convention events will also be held at other downtown venues, according to a memo released Thursday by the 2020 Jacksonville Host Committee. Those events, which include social gatherings, will likely be held in smaller rooms inside the various stadiums and arenas in the Jacksonville area, according to a source.

“We continue to plan to host programming each day leading up to President Donald Trump’s speech accepting the nomination on Thursday, August 27. We expect there to be evening programming each night, along with some daytime events and festivities. We plan to utilize a number of indoor and outdoor venues in this multi-block radius of Jacksonville, including the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, TIAA Bank Field, Daily’s Place Amphitheater, 121 Financial Ballpark, and several others,” McDaniel wrote.

McDaniel’s announcement adds some clarity to a week of murkiness about how Trump would celebrate his reelection nomination — a choice complicated by the Republican National Committee’s decision to move most of its convention events from Charlotte, N.C., to Jacksonville and Florida’s spiking coronavirus outbreak.

At the time the RNC announced the move, on June 11, Trump and the RNC objected to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s resistance to guarantee a “full-fledged” convention celebration at Charlotte’s 19,000-person Spectrum Center. Meanwhile, the scale of infections in Florida was comparatively modest, with only about one in 20 tests coming back positive statewide. Jacksonville, in particular, also was experiencing a relatively mild coronavirus outbreak, one reason the hastily formed Jacksonville Host Committee announced plans to focus convention events on Aug. 25, 26 and 27 around the 15,000-seat VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena downtown.

But Florida reported more than 14,000 positive COVID-19 cases Thursday, and a record 156 deaths. There were 831 positive cases reported Thursday in Duval County alone, where the government representing the sprawling Jacksonville metro area has imposed an order requiring masks indoors when social distancing can’t be observed. The state, meanwhile, is limiting capacity to 50% at entertainment venues.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence confirmed reports that the RNC might move its signature events outdoors.

“There’s consideration being given to having the convention in an outdoor setting and also putting the kind of measures in place that put the health of all of those participating, our delegates, visitors and anyone else that’s present,” Pence said.

Third-party agreements are still being negotiated between an events manager for city-owned venues and either the RNC or the Jacksonville Host Committee, according to an email sent Wednesday night by the city’s chief administrative officer to Jacksonville City Council President Tommy Hazouri.

McDaniel’s letter, which referenced the need to respect local health restrictions, stressed that the convention would be held with precautions in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“We plan to implement a variety of health protocols in order to ensure a safe event. This plan includes but is not limited to on-site temperature checks, available PPE, aggressive sanitizing protocols and available COVID-19 testing,” the letter to delegates said.

An immediate question facing the RNC is whether to credential party bosses and lawmakers who would typically attend the convention but appear to be kept from viewing the president’s acceptance speech by the new rules that McDaniel sent to delegates on Thursday.

Republican governors, senators and members of the House of Representatives would usually be allowed in. State party staff and consultants are also generally credentialed. The more Republican a state, the more credentials it usually receives for big donors, a person involved in the planning of a state delegation told McClatchy. Battleground state parties typically receive more credentials, too.

Republican senators such as Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Pat Roberts of Kansas have already signaled they would not attend. A spokeswoman for Sen. Rick Scott of Florida has said he would attend.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida, told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum Wednesday night that he expected to go: “I plan to attend. Obviously, we’ll wait and see what circumstances look like at that point.”

McDaniel’s letter signaled that many extra credentials would be nixed this year. It also put alternative delegates in the position of having to decide whether they want to spend thousands of dollars traveling to an area which might result in them being advised to quarantine for 14 days afterward.

“Who in their right mind would be willing to go down there and then quarantine for two weeks, particularly if you’re an alternate,” the person involved in planning for a state delegation said.

———

McClatchy Washington Bureau reporters Alex Daugherty and Michael Wilner contributed to this report.

———

©2020 Miami Herald

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A+
a-
  • Donald Trump
  • Jacksonville
  • Republican National Convention
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Political News

    March 28, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Elections Task Force Prosecutes 2020 ‘Vigilantes,’ Seeks More Civic Dialogue

    PHOENIX, Ariz. — A 46-year-old Ohio man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for sending death threats to... Read More

    PHOENIX, Ariz. — A 46-year-old Ohio man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for sending death threats to an Arizona election official. The sentencing of Joshua Russell, of Bucyrus, Ohio, came after he pleaded guilty to one count of making a threatening interstate communication.... Read More

    March 28, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Vice President Harris Rolls Out First Government-Wide Policy to Mitigate AI Risks

    WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday rolled out the Biden administration’s first government-wide policy intended to mitigate the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday rolled out the Biden administration’s first government-wide policy intended to mitigate the risks associated with artificial intelligence while still enabling its use to advance the public interest. The new policy, which is being issued through the White House... Read More

    March 27, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    New Dem Chair Kuster Announces Retirement Following 2024 Election

    CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who, among other things, is the current chair of the New Democrat Coalition... Read More

    CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who, among other things, is the current chair of the New Democrat Coalition in the House, revealed Wednesday that she will not seek reelection to Congress this year. In a lengthy statement released by her office, Kuster gives no... Read More

    March 25, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    CPAC Releases Ranking of Most Conservative Members of Congress

    WASHINGTON — The Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC, on Monday released its annual ranking of members of... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC, on Monday released its annual ranking of members of the House and Senate based on their conservative bona fides or lack thereof. To produce this year’s scorecard, the CPAC foundation’s Center for Legislative Accountability analyzed... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    After a Decade on Capitol Hill, Brad Howard Steps Out on His Own

    WASHINGTON — After a decade on Capitol Hill, most recently as chief of staff for former Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla.,... Read More

    WASHINGTON — After a decade on Capitol Hill, most recently as chief of staff for former Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and communications director of the Blue Dog Coalition, Brad Howard knew it was time for change. “It was time to move into the private sector,” he... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Greene Files Motion to Vacate Speaker’s Chair

    WASHINGTON — For the second time in five months, a member of the Republican Conference in the House has filed... Read More

    WASHINGTON — For the second time in five months, a member of the Republican Conference in the House has filed a motion to vacate the chair of the party’s speaker. But this time, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., says the motion is intended merely as a... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top