MILWAUKEE — It's been nearly two years of economic anticipation for the RNC in Milwaukee.
In June of 2022, Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced to a crowd of Milwaukeeans and business owners, "My support for this agreement, which has been longstanding, is primarily driven by the benefits that hard-working Milwaukeeans will receive when the RNC comes to our city in 2024."
Gary Witt with Pabst Theater Group says just three weeks out from the RNC, some of those promises have fallen short.
"Personally, our businesses aren't being used," said Witt. "The Riverside Theater will sit empty because we weren't allowed to book a show that time frame and the Pabst Theater will also sit empty—as will the Vivarium and the Fitzgerald. So, we have four buildings that are sitting empty and not being occupied."
The economic impact was a driving factor for the mayor's bid to have the convention in town.
Reporter Mariam Mackar brought Witt's concerns to the Mayor Wednesday.
"What do you have to say to those business owners who are worried they won't be getting the money they thought they would?" asked Mackar.
"There's going to be tens of thousands of people coming here," replied Johnson. "And if they haven't booked, they'll still need to eat."
He continued to say that, aside from the influx of visitors, the convention is the first step for building up the city on a bigger scale.
"I've always seen this as the beginning and not the end. The RNC puts us on a different level. It elevates Milwaukee, nationally and globally," Johnson said.
While some businesses like the Pabst group will sit idle that week in July, others tell TMJ4 they'll be busy.
Michael Vitucci, the owner of Uncle Buck's in the Deer District, says his restaurant is booked every day of the convention.
"We’ve had several events that have come through to look at our space," he said.
Still, Vitucci said there wasn't an influx trying to reserve his spot like he anticipated.
"We saw this event as a little different, it was not the hoopla or rush to book," he explained. "Everybody that came through was meticulous on what they wanted, so we had to kind of conform to that."
Meanwhile, Witt says despite his expectations shifting, he hopes the city will still come out on top.
"I want us to succeed with this. I desperately need us as a city to succeed with the RNC, but we also shouldn't stand still and be quiet when it's not succeeding."
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