The RNC will be a big deal for Milwaukee. How does it rank among other Cream City events?

July's Republican National Convention could draw up to 50,000 visitors and generate an estimated $200 million economic impact for the Milwaukee area.

What backs up those estimates? How do they compare with the last fully staged RNC? And how does this summer's convention rank among other big Milwaukee events, such as the National Basketball Association finals in 2021, or Northwestern Mutual's annual meeting?

Here's what we know.

RNC economic estimate tied to 2016 convention

The Republican Party's 2016 convention in Cleveland (the 2020 meeting was scaled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic) provides one basis for estimating the 2024 impact on the Milwaukee area.

A study commissioned by the RNC 2016 host committee estimated the convention attracted approximately 48,000 visitors to the Cleveland area.

The economic impact included $110.1 million in direct convention-related spending, plus $78.3 million in indirect and induced spending, for a total of $188.4 million.

Indirect spending covers goods and services which businesses procure because of the convention − such as a tavern stocking up on whiskey and beer. Induced spending covers money spent by employees of hotels, restaurants and other affected businesses through wages they earned during the convention.

The study was conducted by Tourism Economics, a firm that operates its U.S. headquarters in the Philadelphia area.

Another study estimated a lower RNC impact

An earlier study, by Cleveland State University, estimated a lower economic impact: $67.9 million in direct convention-related spending, plus $74.3 million in indirect and induced spending, for a total of $142.2 million.

The university's report estimated the convention attracted more than 44,000 visitors.

Cleveland State's study also was commissioned by the RNC host committee. The committee hired Tourism Economics to do the second study because of disagreements over methodology used by the university's researchers, according to a Cleveland.com article.

"Of the roughly $64 million raised by the local host committee from corporations, local and state government and other groups, $25 million came from sources in Northeast Ohio," according to the article.

"The CSU researchers didn't include this in their research at all, saying they believe that money would have been spent in Northeast Ohio anyway. Tourism Economics included this money in their calculations, but at a discounted rate," it said.

Milwaukee's $200 million impact includes DNC inputs

Visit Milwaukee, a publicly funded nonprofit group which promotes Milwaukee as a travel destination, compiled the $200 million economic impact estimate for the 2024 RNC.

That estimate includes spending on such things as hotels, restaurants, taverns, transportation and event rentals. It also includes $50 million from the federal government to pay for security.

Visit Milwaukee used a standard tourism industry economic impact calculator.

The inputs included estimates compiled for the 2020 Democratic National Convention that was planned for Milwaukee before the event was canceled because of the pandemic, said Claire Koenig, Visit Milwaukee vice president for communications and advocacy.

Other inputs included some of Cleveland’s reported figures from the post-convention studies; the 16,000 hotel rooms needed for the 2024 RNC, and a conservative estimate of 45,000 visitors expected in July, she said.

How does the RNC compare to the NBA, other events?

A $200 million economic impact from the RNC would be much larger than the impacts from other major Milwaukee gatherings in downtown Milwaukee in recent years.

That includes the 2021 National Basketball Association playoffs, with the Bucks winning the championship, which generated an estimated $57.6 million, according to Visit Milwaukee.

Of $31.8 million in direct spending during the playoffs, $8.4 million was tied to hotel rooms. Other big spending categories included $6.6 million on brewery tours, museum visits and other recreation; $5.8 million on retail, $5.2 million on food and beverage, and $4.3 million on transportation.

Other larger events, and their economic impacts, include Northwestern Mutual's 2023 annual meeting, $19 million; the American Legion's 2022 convention, $17.6 million; Campus Crusade for Christ's 2022 convention, $13.5 million, and the 2023 USA Triathlon events, $10 million.

DNC would likely make a bigger splash

The Democratic National Convention would probably create a bigger economic impact than the RNC if it came to Milwaukee.

Republicans will have 2,429 total delegates from across the country voting at the convention in Milwaukee, along with 2,262 alternates − totaling nearly 4,700 people. The DNC, set for August in Chicago, will have 4,532 delegates, said ballotpedia.org, with up to 7,000 delegates and alternates.

Indeed, the 2016 DNC drew more than 54,000 visitors to the Philadelphia area and provided an economic impact of $230.9 million. That's according to a report from the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.

That $230.9 million estimate is either 23% higher, or 62% higher, than the RNC's 2016 economic impact − depending on which Cleveland study is used for comparison.

But, the DNC impact − like other convention spending estimates − was probably overstated, said two economics professors quoted in a report by WHYY, National Public Radio's Philadelphia affiliate.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, X and Facebook.