Phoenix will not be hosting the Republican National Convention in 2016. This isn’t the first time the city was passed up.
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Dallas, Denver and Kansas City are the six cities still in, but Phoenix is out again. Four years ago, it lost the the bid to host the 2012 convention.
Tim Sifert is from the Arizona Republican Party. He said the party is extremely disappointed.
“We certainly have the capacity as far as hotels and arenas and meeting spaces and those kinds of things, but some of the other cities were a little more competitive on the financial side. Being able to demonstrate their ability to put the fundraising together,” said Sifert.
Sifert said the religious freedom bill known as SB1062 was not the reason the city was rejected.
Columbus, Ohio was also knocked out of contention Wednesday. The committee will make a final decision this summer.
