Thanks, Cleveland! Las Vegas losing GOP convention now looks like a win

I know I speak for many of us when I say, “Thank you, Cleveland.”

It’s a simple refrain, but one we should repeat often. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Cleveland.”

Not for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Museum of Art or the resurgent Cavaliers. Not even for giving Ohio a much-needed sense of humor.

You deserve a thousand thanks and more for taking one for the team and agreeing to play host to the 2016 Republican National Convention July 18-21 at the Quicken Loans Arena. Locals call it “The Q.”

They may want to rename it “The Zoo.”

Given the current state of the GOP presidential primaries, which find the top contenders comporting themselves with all the dignity of feces-flinging chimps, organizers who fought successfully to win the convention may be having second thoughts about their efforts.

National political conventions are generally seen as a time for a city to sparkle and show its best profile. With 50,000 visitors expected at the end, including 15,000 members of the media, the Chamber of Commerce marketing potential is great. “The government affairs folks at every major corporation in America will be here,” Downtown Cleveland Alliance CEO Joe Marinucci told a reporter.

That’s the good news. The bad news? Unless the adults in the GOP find a way to quiet the Tourette triplets on the winding road to Cleveland, the convention threatens to send precisely the wrong message about the state of Republicanism and the host city.

Blustery businessman Donald Trump’s emergence as primary ringmaster has fractured the Republican establishment and manifested itself in large crowds and incidents of violence. It’s not a matter of a single sucker-punching sycophant or a few reporters being roughed up. The anxiety level of protests outside Trump’s events are growing, too.

In keeping with his zeal for self-promotion, Trump can’t quite bring himself to throw water on the flames. America’s television dealmaker is making the biggest deal of his career, and as long as everyone’s talking about him he must be doing something right, right?

Lost and little remembered in the roar of the presidential primary is the fact that Las Vegas went to great lengths to land the 2016 GOP convention. Before withdrawing from consideration in May 2014 after it became clear we wouldn’t be selected, the Las Vegas 2016 Host Committee made a good case for the city. Although there were unanswered logistical and financial challenges, including the source of funding for the more than $60 million in costs of the event, our convention facilities are among the best in the world. And for a national media looking to set a scene, a Las Vegas backdrop would have been hard to beat.

Las Vegas may one day get a chance to see a national political convention come to town — as early as 2020 if some promoters have their way. At the time the host committee folded its tent, its chairman, former Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, said, “We unwaveringly believe that Las Vegas offers the most compelling business, logistical and quality of experience reasons to be selected as the venue for a national political convention.”

All well and good, but Krolicki couldn’t have predicted the surreal Republican primary, the rise of Trump, the increasingly violent atmosphere and the likely chaos of a brokered convention. The Strip has plenty of flamboyant entertainment, from high-flying acrobats to Celine, but when it comes to dropping jaws, our best performers are bona fide bumpkins next to the audacious Trump and Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

Sometimes losing is a very, very good thing. Las Vegas losing its bid for the 2016 Republican National Convention was one of those times.

All we can say is, “Thank you, Cleveland.”

We owe you one.

John L. Smith’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Contact him at 702-383-0295 or jsmith@reviewjournal.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith