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Curry Pitches Jacksonville To Host GOP Convention After Trump Threatens To Move It

Downtown Jacksonville
BILL BORTZFIELD / WJCT NEWS
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry has been quick to try and capitalize on the possibility of the August Republican National Convention's being moved out of North Carolina.

On Memorial Day, President Donald Trump threatened to pull the convention from Charlotte.

On Tuesday Curry Tweeted, “We would be honored to host the Republican National Convention.”

Curry is proposing hosting the convention at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, which he called a “world class facility.”

Curry pointed out that the city successfully hosted what he said was the world’s first live pro-sporting event since the advent of COVID-19. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) hosted shows in Jacksonville earlier this month, which were telecast on Pay-Per-View.

The UFC competitions in Jacksonville were held without an audience. President Trump has made it clear he wants “full attendance” at the GOP convention.

Curry said his administration, along with Gov. Ron DeSantis', has created a regulatory framework that “operates in [a] way that is attractive to significant events like these."

The Florida GOP would also like to see the convention moved to Florida.

North Carolina’s health and human services secretary has said the Republican National Committee should "hope for the best, but plan for the worst," when it comes to having its convention in Charlotte in August.

Related:  Local, State, And National Coronavirus Coverage

In an interview with WFAE, Charlotte's NPR station, Dr. Mandy Cohen said mass gatherings will be a "very big challenge" if COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the state, as they have been.

Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.

Copyright 2020 WJCT News 89.9. To see more, visit .

Bill joined WJCT News in September of 2017 from The Florida Times-Union, where he served in a variety of multimedia journalism positions.