Representatives from the national Republican Party toured the American Airlines Center last month and two people with knowledge of discussions told The Dallas Morning News the GOP is weighing Dallas as the host city for a rare midterm convention this fall.
Dave Brown, the American Airlines Center’s general manager, told The News on Tuesday that party representatives visited the arena at the end of February to assess it as a potential host site for an event.
“But to this point nothing has been agreed to or finalized,” Brown said. He did not know the details of their plans.
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The New York Times reported Tuesday that President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee are strongly considering Dallas as the site of a midterm convention, targeted for sometime after Labor Day. Midterm conventions are unusual, as parties typically only hold such events in presidential election years.
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In a statement to The News, RNC senior adviser Danielle Alvarez confirmed a midterm convention is being planned and being driven by the president. She shot down notions that any deal was finalized.
“While there has been speculation in the media about the location and date, no contracts have been signed and any reporting on those details remains purely speculative at this time,” she said.
Two people with knowledge of the discussions told The News the event is set for the weekend of Sept. 11, the 25th anniversary of 9/11. They said GOP representatives held meetings in Dallas recently to plan for the convention, contacted hotels in the area to reserve room blocks and sent notices to GOP donors about a September event at the arena.
The American Airlines Center’s online event calendar as of Tuesday evening didn’t have any announced events between Sept. 1-16.
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If Dallas were to host a convention on the scale of those held every four years, the timeline for local preparations could be tighter than those afforded to convention host cities in recent years. In Milwaukee officials said the security plan for the 2024 Republican National Convention had been built over roughly 18 months.
Allison Hudson, a Dallas Police Department spokesperson, said in a statement Tuesday that the department, which would be involved in security measures for a convention, had “not been made aware of any plans related to this matter.”
Dallas County Republican Party Chair Allen West told The News on Tuesday he didn’t know of any plans for a GOP convention in Dallas.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a longtime Democrat who declared himself Republican in 2023, declined to comment when his office was asked about The Times report on Tuesday. Nick Starling, a Dallas spokesman, said the city was “letting the mayor’s office handle the inquiries at this time” when asked for comment on the possible GOP event.
Staff writers Chase Rogers and Aarón Torres contributed to this report.
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