RNC 2024: Milwaukee event spaces face boom-or-bust scenario
MILWAUKEE - There's a new worry about a possible protest zone planned for this summer's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Once a bank for beer barons, a building from 1913 now preserves Milwaukee County history. It's located at the corner of King Drive and Kilbourn Avenue, and bordered by Pere Marquette Park.
"This really went from what we saw as an opportunity to now something that is deeply concerning," said Ben Barbera, Milwaukee County Historical Society executive director.
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The Milwaukee County Historical Society is a nonprofit that supports its work by renting out its space. In 2020, for the planned Democratic National Convention, a media company was close to renting it for 10 days. This year, Barbera said the organization has heard concerns about the location of a proposed protest zone at Pere Marquette Park.
"Mostly, they’re concerned about potential conflicts," he said. "They want to make this their home base, and they don’t want to do that with the number of protesters outside their front door."
Milwaukee County Historical Society
It's a different story a block from Fiserv Forum. State Street Pizza Pub is getting ready to sign a contract to feed 500 people during convention week.
"For a small business, it’s a game changer," said owner Andrew Fish. "I’m quite excited about it. I already know I’m going to get hate mail if you guys air this. All I care about is getting a piece of the $200 million and being able to take care of my staff, being able to take care of my business, being able to expand my business to Madison, which I'm really hoping to do."
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The U.S. Secret Service told State Street Pizza Pub it would be inside the convention's hard security perimeter. Now, Fish is trying to figure out how he'll get food and alcohol delivered the week of the convention.
"A lot of people are saying: ‘Oh, just get a whole week’s worth of stuff,’" he said. "I can’t, because, one, my refrigerators are too small, and two, I pride myself on having fresh veggies."
State Street Pizza Pub
Back at the Milwaukee County Historical Society, Barbera still hopes the old bank will see a big pay day.
"We are stable, so this certainly will not be the end of the historical society or anything like that, we’ll just have to do some belt tightening," he said.
The Republican National Committee urged the Secret Service to include Pere Marquette Park in the inner security perimeter, which would mean the city could not use it as a designated zone for protests. The same location was proposed for a 2020 DNC protest zone.