How much have local businesses gained so far from the Republican National Convention?
The only person who knows that information isn't telling. But we'll all know on Oct. 15 when the Host Committee releases the convention's financial disclosure information. At a Tuesday morning news conference at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, the Host Committee's CEO, Ken Jones, said nearly 80 percent of his budget has been spent on companies doing business in Tampa Bay and/or Florida.
"Every chance we had to source the contract to a local small business, we did it," he said. "If we had a choice between Orlando and Tampa, we picked Tampa. If we had a choice between Orlando and Virginia, we'll pick Orlando. So we always had the Florida focus in mind every time we looked at vetting a contract and giving it to a local business."
This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2012.