What’s good for the Cleveland Cavaliers is not necessarily good for those setting up the Republican National Convention.
According to a spokesperson for the convention’s committee on arrangements, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bid for the city’s first championship is complicating set-up for the four-day Republican confab, which kicks off July 18.
After winning Game 5 Monday night in Oakland, the RNC will finally be able to begin setting up for the convention soon after Game 6 concludes Thursday in Cleveland.
While the preparation staff and vendors are usually given access to the arena a full six weeks before a convention to prepare, they’ve been forced to go without access to Quicken Loans Arena. After Thursday, they’ll have slightly more than four weeks to get everything set up as they race against the clock.
Audrey Scagnelli, who serves as the committee on arrangements spokesperson, told the Washington Examiner that this situation means that only hours after the Cavs season ends, the convention staff will start hauling in equipment for the convention as the arena staff carries out basketball nets and related equipment.
“Six hours after the last game, the Cavs will hand over the keys,” Scagnelli said. “We’ll literally have our trucks coming and their trucks going out — literally. It’s a choreographed dance.”
Scagnelli said convention planners have been mapping out how everything will fit in Quicken Loans Arena in a nearby space. However, issues do remain, with lighting being a main one. Lighting for the convention will be much different than it is for a basketball game, with the convention set to install lighting specific to the convention in the arena.
But the preparation staff isn’t too concerned with the situation and are taking it in stride.
“It’s kind of fun. I think it adds a little twist in all this,” Scagnelli said.
Earlier in the playoff run, scheduling at the Quicken Loans Arena became a hot topic as Game 5 of the Cavs’ first round series with the Detroit Pistons was scheduled for the same day as a Justin Bieber concert. The Cavs swept the series, solving the problem.
