With the bars closing at 4 a.m., the hotels packed, the roads and malls swarming with out-of-towners, protesters demonstrating and police and security stretched thin, the Republican National Convention could bring peril or prosperity.
Preparing for both will be key, economic and security experts say.
Ahead of the 50,000-plus visitors expected to arrive in July, Akron leaders and a Cleveland security company briefed local businesses Thursday on what to expect and how to prepare.
The remarks were given during a regular meeting of the Building Owners & Managers Association of Greater Akron, a group of property lawyers, accountants, hotel managers, construction companies, bankers, elevator installers and other firms that make hosting thousands of visitors possible.
Cleveland to be clogged
During the meeting at Portage County Club, Tom Lekan, a security consultant with Cleveland-based Atlantis Co., gave a sobering assessment of what life will be like in downtown Cleveland in the days surrounding the RNC, which runs July 18-21.
Quicken Loans Arena, the host site, will be on lockdown. Nearly 2,000 Cleveland police officers will join 2,850 more from across the country; 300 will be crisscrossing downtown on newly purchased bicycles. Altogether, the city will spend $50 million on security.
Unless you already have tickets, don’t bother making your way to Playhouse Square, he said.
Lekan is working with Cuyahoga County Community College to train 1,000 security guards.
Lekan expects local safety forces to face increased demands during RNC week.
“If during the convention you decide to call the Fairlawn police because there’s a dog barking next door, you’ll probably wait a long time for that policeman,” said Lekan, a Parma police officer before entering the security business four decades ago.
On the menu
While some in the audience questioned whether Akron could draw visitors away from the political epicenter in Cleveland, local leaders are laying out the welcome mat.
Gregg Mervis, president of the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau, is treating the RNC event as the main course on a menu that includes the 2016 Bridgestone Invitational June 29-July 3, the All-American Soap Box Derby July 10-16 and Pro Football Hall of Fame festivities in August.
Mervis said 70 percent of Summit County’s 5,600 hotel rooms are booked for the week of the RNC.
“It will be very close to capacity,” he said. “It will test the infrastructure of this community.”
With thousands visiting and millions watching, Mervis said a fading shot of Stan Hywet or the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad cut into the national coverage of the convention could be a win for the region.
Suzie Graham, president of the Downtown Akron Partnership, joined Mervis in pitching the city’s downtown festivals — from ribs to Italian food — and Lock 3 Park concert series as appetizers for the RNC.
The plan has merits, agreed Emily Lauer, spokesperson for Destination Cleveland, a member of the RNC Host Committee. For the first time since 1980, the RNC is being held in the summer instead of when children normally go back to school. Lauer expects delegates to take full advantage of the summer timing and make a family vacation of their political trip, extended their time and spending in the region.
Take care
Lekan said Fairlawn, with its hotels and shopping, will be a prime target for tourists.
“With that, too, comes all the crooks and bad guys and pickpockets and everything you can think of,” he said.
“The other thing that they’re really concerned about is terrorists. … So the security that’s involved in this is overwhelming,” Lekan said.
As Lekan spoke of the extreme, including advising downtown Cleveland businesses to shatterproof their storefront windows, Nicolai Firtha listened attentively. The 37-year-old former heavyweight boxer hopes to cash in on the good and the bad.
Firtha, who grew up in East Akron, used to be a valet at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn. He’s glad to see the hotel booked solid, although the RNC has yet to announce which states’ delegates will be staying there.
A former caddie at Portage Country Club, Firtha used to chase golfers around the Bridgestone International for TV broadcasters and announcers, relaying the pros’ choice of club and how they intended to use it. An entrepreneur, Firtha hopes to land a similar gig when national news networks attempt to track 2,472 delegates deciding the next Republican presidential nominee.
Then there’s the late nights and partying. Firtha, who now works for a company that cleans up after fires and floods, hopes to cash in there, too.
“I’m sure they’re going to get rowdy,” Firtha said, thinking of the hotel rooms, Airbnb units, businesses and rented-out bars that might need maintenance after the RNC swoops through.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @DougLivingstonABJ.