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RNC gave economy a $168 million boost
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When the Republican National Convention was gaveled to order in St. Paul a year ago Tuesday, local organizers predicted it would pump as much as $160 million into the Twin Cities economy.
The economic impact turned out to be even bigger: more than $168 million, according to a report released Tuesday by the convention's local host committee.
And at a time when the economy was beginning its free-fall into a deep recession, $100 million of that money flowed into the pockets of local workers, the report estimated.
And the convention ended up in the black. The Minneapolis-St. Paul 2008 Host Committee reported that it raised enough money that it ended up with a surplus of nearly $7 million, which was donated to the St. Paul Foundation, the Minneapolis Foundation and the Minnesota Foundation.
A less tangible economic benefit flowed from the wall-to-wall media coverage the convention generated, according to the committee.
By its calculations, it "earned" the Twin Cities "more than 10 billion media impressions, which is the equivalent of a $407 million advertising campaign or 150 Super Bowl ads."
The 45,000 people who came to the metro area for the convention spent an average of $1,600 each while they were here, the committee estimated.
And it was as much of a boon for the local lodging industry as predicted: According to the report, hotel and motel occupancy exceeded 90 percent, compared to less than 60 percent a year earlier.
BOB VON STERNBERG
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