Tampa gets taste of media scrutiny for RNC convention

They came with laptop computers and cameras, digital recorders, pens and notebooks, and questions, lots and lots of questions.

On Tuesday, the city got a taste of the media scrutiny expected during next year's Republican National Convention, as news representatives from across the state, country and world landed in town for a walk-through of the event's two main venues.

News representatives toured the St. Pete Times Forum, where Republicans will gather in about 263 days to nominate a candidate to challenge President Barack Obama, and the Tampa Convention Center, which will be mission control for coverage of the event.

Speaking at a press conference, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus used the opportunity to talk about his and the GOP's priority to "make Barack Obama a one term president."

"We're standing on the very floor where the next president of the United States will be nominated," he said in a general session earlier, speaking from a temporary stage in the middle of the forum.

Priebus praised members of the nonprofit Tampa Bay Host Committee and others for providing a "great deal of support" for planning and preparation for the convention.

"One of the reasons the RNC chose Tampa is because this area knows how to put on premier events, Super Bowl, World Series, the Final Four," he said. "Tampa Bay is an exceptional host city … and we are going to put on a world-class convention here."

Unlike the convention, when most of the questions from news reporters will be political, most of the questions asked at Tuesday's media briefing were logistical in nature.

Members of the RNC's Committee on Arrangements and the host committee briefed reporters, editors, producers, photographers and others covering the convention on issues ranging from housing, parking and transportation, credentialing and assigning of press galleries to the herculean telecommunications needs and electrical demands.

Event organizers talked about plans to create a temporary pedestrian tunnel from the Forum to the Convention Center to allow media and delegates to go back and forth.

Following the tours and briefings, the host committee held a reception Tuesday.

The GOP convention, to be held the week of Aug. 27-30, is expected to draw more than 45,000 visitors to the Tampa Bay area, including an estimated 15,000 news media.