First came Vice President Kamala Harris, then came former President Donald Trump. Two packed rallies, four days apart, the same downtown Atlanta venue: Georgia State University’s Convocation Center.
Georgia’s largest public university last week opened up its doors to thousands of ardent supporters of Trump and Harris. And the school charged each of the two presidential campaigns a six-figure fee to use its facility, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through an open records request.
The total charges for the Harris event on July 30 tallied $112,832. The Trump campaign bill for his Aug. 3 rally came to $142,492.
Credit: Hyosub.Shin / ajc.com
Credit: Hyosub.Shin / ajc.com
So, what are the nitty-gritty costs behind such large-scale, quickly produced events?
Both campaigns paid the same deposit, $33,500, prior to their respective rallies. The remaining balances are to be paid within 30 days of receiving the final bills, according to the contracts.
Then, there’s the cost for securing the building, ensuring the audience is safe and for cleaning it.
The Virginia-based Trump 47 Committee, Inc. was charged about $25,000 more for police staffing and about $7,000 more for emergency medical services. The Republican event also was billed twice as much as Harris’ event for custodial labor and equipment.
The Democratic candidate’s campaign, which featured a mini-concert by rapper Megan Thee Stallion, had a higher bill for audio, visual, broadcast and technology costs. Harris’ event also was charged $2,100 for bottled water, which campaign staffers distributed to the public. Other charges included $2,367 for “parking deck sign damage” and nearly $2,000 for replacing event paneling known as “pipe and drapes,” which the invoice stated was taken by a production team.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
GSU said in a statement that Trump’s campaign bill came out higher because his “event was longer in duration than that of Vice President Harris’ campaign event and took place on a weekend and outside of normal business hours.” The university also noted that there was a heat advisory the day of Trump’s event, “which resulted in more EMS services.”
The two venue contracts contained largely similar terms, including the use of 1,700 nearby parking spaces.
The 200,000-square-foot Convocation Center opened in 2022. It’s the home court for the GSU Panthers basketball teams and hosts graduation ceremonies and other events. The building cost roughly $85 million, including state funds.
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