CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As planning for the 2020 Republican National Convention starts, one potential concern for the 2020 Host Committee is the expansion of the streetcar.
Host Committee CEO John Lassiter and COO Towers Mingledorff sat down with Eyewitness News reporter Joe Bruno for an interview Monday morning.
[GOP picks Charlotte for 2020 Republican National Convention]
Construction is underway for an expanded streetcar line. The city of Charlotte is expanding the service so it will stretch from west Charlotte to Plaza Midwood. The line will run directly through uptown.
A spokesperson for CATS said the line is projected to be finished in August 2020.
“We are currently in the process of evaluating how the streetcar will be impacted by the 2020 convention,” Juliann Sheldon, public and community relations specialist for CATS, said.
Lassiter is optimistic the line will be completed in time but acknowledged major issues if it isn’t.
“It’s cutting right through a major corridor,” Lassiter said. “I think the schedule is for it to be completed; how it will operate is up to the city and the folks responsible for securing the area.”
The host committee is working with small businesses and restaurants to make sure they are prepared for a dramatically altered uptown.
The committee has already started meeting with CMPD Chief Kerr Putney to discuss protest plans.
In terms of fundraising, Lassiter declined to give a specific number but said the 2020 convention is ahead of where Democrats were in 2012. He said this is partly due to Democrats originally only accepting individual contributions.
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