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Crews Quickly Dismantling RNC at Quicken Loans Arena

Workers popping 100,000 baloons. Some delegates asked to help pop balloons for the sheer fun of it.

As soon as the balloons fell last night at the end of the convention at Quicken Loans Arena,  trucks were roaming the streets downtown removing concrete barriers.  What took years to plan is now being dismantled.  Ideastream’s Mark Urycki filed this report

 

 

“The concrete barricades and the  8 foot fencing are  beginning to come down in Cleveland and streets are just starting to open up again . But inside the Q, it’s going to take a couple of weeks.

While delegates were still taking selfies in front of the RNC stage. A swarm of workers used broom handles with nails on the end to pop the 100 thousand balloons on the floor. At 1 O’clock workers from the Freeman company began a tear-down that will turn the convention into a basketball arena.  Company Vice President Greg Lane of New Orleans has built 8 presidential conventions and he’s proud to be part of political history. 

“I see this as our basic corps beginning of our democratic way of government and process to select those candidates for those highest offices, president and vice president, for both parties...  It can be a little unruly and all of that but you know it’s democracy.”

But right now Lane is worried about rolling up the red carpet and electric cable,  and removing plywood walls that his company will reuse for other conventions and trade shows.  They also have to bring back in 2500 stadium seats that were removed for the RNC.  The plush new folding chairs the delegates used will stay in Cleveland,

"It took 4 weeks to set it up.  And the bulk of it will be out in less than two weeks but we still not only have to get our material out that we brought in but then we have to restore things in the building.  We took about 2500 stadium seats out – those have to be put back in. “  

The plush new folding chairs the delegates used will stay in Cleveland.

"The host committee is – they’re staying here.  They are going to repurpose those or give them to the Convention Center or something.  They have a plan for them – they’re not going to the dump.” 

Lane has till August 8 to put the Q back to how they found it.  But turning Media Row back into the Gateway Garage has a shorter deadline.

“They’ll be in there dismantling those wall systems and all that equipment in there in the morning.  We need to turn that back because the Indians have a game on Tuesday night.”

Lane has worked in halls in many cities but said working with the staff of the Q and the Cavaliers was “spectacular.”   

 

Mark.Urycki@ideastream.org