Milwaukee businessman blames Trump for lack of RNC event contracts — but won’t say he hates GOP

WATERTOWN, Wis. — Some Milwaukee venue owners complain in a report out Wednesday that they don’t have the bookings they were expecting leading up to next month’s Republican National Convention — but it turns out they’re no fans of the party or its presumptive nominee.

Gary Witt, the president and CEO of the Pabst Theater Group, told local journalist Dan Shafer the Republican Party’s planning for the Milwaukee convention is “underwhelming” and “a failure.”

He claimed to be speaking on behalf of “everyone else in town who does what we do.”

A sign for the Republican National Convention getting placed on Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on June 25, 2024. Mike De Sisti / The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Witt this month blithely condemned “half of all U.S. adults who get their news from social media” as “idiots” on his Twitter account, reposting an Associated Press story on fake news.

Witt, a constant critic of Trump on his Twitter account, blamed him for the alleged projected failure of the RNC to boost Milwaukee’s economy.

“Conversations behind the scenes began to change once it was clear that Trump would be the nominee,” Witt said. What conversations, and which people were having those conversations, is not clear.

Gregory León, chef and owner of downtown Milwaukee’s Amilinda, told Shafer, “I have a feeling this is going to be a business killer.” Yet he also tweeted, “I can’t wait for this to be over with! GTFOGOP.”

While community members point fingers, and the RNC claims things are moving ahead on schedule, the reason for the slow start to convention event bookings may be more complicated.

Witt, for instance, wanted to charge almost $117,000 for a two-hour movie screening and open bar for just 50 attendees at the Riverside Theater during the convention. The contract did not go through.

An invoice from Gary Witt’s Pabst Theater Group charging about $117,000 for a movie screening an open bar Riverside Theater during the convention.

Turner Hall, by contrast, is expected to be booked for the duration of the convention. A massive party is being held at the American Family Field, where the Milwaukee Brewers play.

Vice-presidential hopeful Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s political action committee has reserved the city’s Mader’s German Restaurant.

Some businesses and lobbyists may have booked the Democratic National Convention in Chicago first and now need to book Milwaukee.

A rendering of the stage design for the 2024 Republican National Convention. Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Democratic Party, meanwhile, is now considering how to go virtual with some parts of its convention to avoid disruptive protesters.

If it gets bad enough, maybe the DNC’s Wisconsin delegation will propose suspending the convention and moving it somewhere else (Milwaukee?) again, à la the 1968 Chicago DNC.

“For over a year and a half now, both Republicans and Democrats have been talking about what a benefit having the convention here is,” Rachel Reisner, communications director of the 2024 Republican National Convention, told The Post. “After the DNC left Milwaukee in 2020 due to COVID, it left a lot of people disappointed,” she pointed out.

“This is going to impact Milwaukee in a variety of ways: whether it’s having an event booked or having a group of delegates walk into a local restaurant for dinner or some delegate and his wife getting a scoop of custard,” said Reisner. “The purpose is to put all the eyes on Milwaukee: to bring the world to Milwaukee and Milwaukee to the world. That’s a long-term goal,” she concluded. “Some of the benefits are in years to come.”

Some local business owners had concerns this month about the impact of another aspect of the RNC on their companies: protesters.

They opposed the city designating a park in their business district — Pere Marquette Park — as a protest forum, saying they did not feel it was safe for their employees or businesses.

The park, a point of conflict between Republicans and the Secret Service, will be inside the RNC’s security perimeter, the Secret Service announced last week.

The Secret Service released maps showing the parade route and protest zones in Milwaukee for the RNC. AP Photo/Andy Manis

Business owners also expressed worries that firearms would be allowed outside the hard security perimeter, per Wisconsin law.

“It’s not because of the registered protesters that will be, effectively, expressing their First Amendment right peacefully, it’s the paid agitators that are being sent here from all over to come here and cause disruption and conflict,” Gino Fazzari, chef and owner of Calderone Club and San Giorgio Pizzeria Napoletana, told Urban Milwaukee.

The economic and business impact of more than 100 organizations and individuals registered with the City of Milwaukee to demonstrate against the RNC has, thus far, not been explored.

Milwaukee’s Pere Marquette Park will be inside the security perimeter, according to the Secret Service. Mike De Sisti / The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

RNC demonstrators have already planned a benefit to raise bail-bond funds to free protesters arrested during the convention.

Witt told local radio this month that he thought Milwaukee’s world-famous Summerfest music festival should close down before midnight, except for the main stage, so that other businesses could benefit from festival-goers’ spending at after-shows in the city.

“I don’t think it really matters whether it works for Summerfest or not,” said Witt. In 2023, Summerfest, which runs for nine days, generated $160.3 million in revenue for the city, according to a study.

The RNC team says nearly 200 events have been signed or are “moving to contract in short order.” VISIT Milwaukee has estimated a $200 million economic impact for the region, including a $75 million federal security grant.

The RNC Committee On Arrangements’ contractor has brought on subcontractors from the area, including Menominee Falls-based Staff Electric, Janesville-based JP Cullen, Pewaukee-based Klein Dickert and Milwaukee-based Bliffert Lumber.

Republicans expect more than 800 media organizations and upwards of 50,000 guests, including international attendees and people from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the US territories.

The Trump campaign had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.