Nearly a year after the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, a report on its economic impact in Northeast Ohio has yet to be released. The researchers hired to complete the report submitted a draft but its release date is not known.
Cleveland State University’s Center for Economic Development was hired last May to complete the study. The researchers predicted it would be finished last fall. The Center’s director, Iryna Lendel, says they’ve submitted their work to the office of David Gilbert, who chaired the convention host committee and runs the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland.
Before the convention, organizers predicted about $200 million in direct spending during the four-day event. The economic impact report on the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia was released in April and found about $130 million in direct spending. A spokesperson for Destination Cleveland says the study isn’t finished yet but they are working on it with Cleveland State.
