Jones and other members of the Host Committee spoke inside the Trop to promote the official welcoming party for RNC delegates and reporters — an event that Jones claims will be bigger than a Super Bowl halftime show (it will certainly be longer, as Madonna had all of 13 minutes to perform in Indianapolis last February). Jones promoted the party concept as "less about politics, more about Tampa Bay."
The party takes place at 6 p.m. on Sunday night, a little more than 24 hours after the party planners get control of the Trop (the Tampa Bay Rays host the Oakland A's in a Saturday afternoon game scheduled for 1:10 p.m.).
The CEO also pumped up the conferences that the Host Committee will work on with Bloomberg LP, which focus on education, trade and other issues. Conference participants include former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Jeb Bush, along with major CEOs.
Matt Becker, the Host Committee's chief operating officer, said that for all intents and purposes, the convention has already started. "All of our operations programs have already begun."
As was the case with similar press conferences throughout the past month, Jones refused to entertain any questions about how close the committee is to its $55-$60 million fundraising goal.
He said he has met every milestone that his committee set up. "Releasing specific fundraising figures while you're still actively fundraising has the ability to either deter or hamper fundraising efforts. And some donors have requested not to be disclosed until federal law requires us to disclose them."
On another note, Director of Events Amanda Whitelaw said that there were 4,567 volunteers involved in the effort, filling more than "10,000 roles."
We'd like to report more, but the line cut out for those of us listening in via conference call.
