State-of-the-art technological upgrades are underway at the Tampa Convention Center and other surrounding areas thanks to AT&T’s official sponsorship of the 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee for the Republican National Convention. The infrastructure upgrades will ensure that guests coming to Tampa Bay for the Convention will not experience dropped calls or disruption to their wireless services. While the project’s main focus is the Convention itself, the effects of the overall project will last well beyond the August event.
AT&T recently launched 4G LTE service in the Tampa Bay area, the fastest available mobile Internet technology. In addition, the company will install three new cell sites (or towers), and will provide wireless Internet service in more than 85 hotel and convention venues covering 1,500 square miles throughout Tampa Bay. It will also add 300 layers of frequency to cell sites, which increases the capacity for faster downloads and fewer dropped calls. More than 200 AT&T Wi-Fi Hotspots are now available throughout the Tampa Bay region, and during the Convention, as many as 10 temporary cell sites will be deployed.
Students and artists are planning to fill the arts gap before the Republican National Convention coming in August. Most of the stories about people preparing for the convention have been about security cameras are demonstrators and safety perimeters, but here come painted elephants.
A herd of elephants is marching its way into Tampa Bay this summer. The 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee is partnering with the Outdoor Arts Foundation (OAF) to introduce Herd About Tampa Bay. The outdoor arts project will feature artistically designed elephants that will be on display during the Republican National Convention, in an effort to warmly welcome guests to the Tampa Bay region in August.
Herd About Tampa Bay will be similar to past fiberglass animal projects such as OAF’s Tampa Bay Tour of Turtles and Manatee Menagerie. The exhibits will feature 4’x4’ fiberglass elephants, which will be mounted on either an exterior or interior wall.
Local businesses and community members can participate in the Herd About Tampa Bay exhibition as patrons. Each elephant requires a $2,000 fee, which includes all production and installation costs, artist fees, and miscellaneous OAF expenses. Once the month-long project is finished, patrons can choose to keep or donate their elephant to their favorite charity.
Patrons interested in participating in the Herd About Tampa Bay exhibition should contact Jay Goulde at (727) 954-4025 orjgoulde@tampabay.rr.com or you can download a patron packet here.
Be the Face of Tampa Bay! The 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee is recruiting volunteers to help during the week of the Republican National Convention. Thousands of guests will descend upon Tampa Bay in August, and we need your help. Click here for more information on how you can become a volunteer today.
Small Business Network Directory
Registration for the Small Business Network is now closed. Thank you to all of the Tampa Bay area businesses who registered. The Small Business Network Directory is slated for publication this month.
The deadline to register for the Small Business Network is March 31. If you have not registered to become a member of the Small Business Network, click here for more information on how you can sign up.
The goal of the Small Business Network is to help foster business opportunities for Tampa Bay small businesses during the 2012 Republican National Convention. Registered businesses will be included in the Small Business Network Directory, which is slated for publication in April.
The 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee for the Republican National Convention is pleased to announce the appointment of its honorary co-chairs.
This prestigious bi-partisan group of individuals is made up of prominent and well-respected elected officials who have served Florida and the Tampa Bay region at local, state and national levels.
TAMPA – Tampa Bay’s Republican Convention host committee announced their honorary co-chairs on the outer deck of the Tampa Bay Times Forum Monday morning. They include mayors, former mayors, former Senator Connie Mack and former Governor Bob Martinez who stressed the importance of the convention to Tampa’s legacy.
TAMPA – The local host committee for the Republican National Convention has selected eight Floridians as honorary co-chairs.
RNC officials announced the names Monday: Former U.S. Senator Connie Mack, former governors Jeb Bush and Bob Martinez, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster, Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos, former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker.
