Conventional Wisdom: Tampa's Extreme Makeover

Conventional Wisdom Facts, features and fodder for RNC Tampa from local experts at the Tampa Bay Times [Fifth in a series] Tampa's extreme makeover When the RNC took over the Tampa Bay Times Forum on July 23, it marked the acceleration of a build-out for the GOP gathering that has been in the works for months. From road work to tree plantings to dramatic light installations, Tampa is putting on its best face for the crowds (and media and its cameras) that will arrive in late August. A PORUM MAKEOVER $20,000,00O Total budget for the makeover being done at the Tampa Bay Times Forum 44 20010500 Average number of workers on the site any given day. 5,000 Approximate number of seats that will be removed to make way for media stand-ups and the main stage. MEDIA PREPARATIONE. Size of the stage where Mitt Romney will accept his party's nomination. 58 200,000 Pounds of theatrical lighting, speakers and cables being ung throug PEET WIDE out the forum /50 Number of individual standup positions for television broadcasters 수 7212 $5695 Cost of one of these standup positions Cost of a radio booth $19,912-$34560 Price range to build out a broadcast suite; the high figure is for a "doublewide" space. LIGHTING VENDORS O ら 0UND THE INPRASTRUCTURE: イつ Number of megawatts needed to power the convention at its peak. 7 600 50 Number of electricians it will take to run "10s of miles of wiring" in the forum. Number of homes this would power. 190 Number of miles of single-strand fiber that has been added to Bright House Networks' existing cable network in downtown Tampa. 大ら 000 Number of business-class phone lines being installed in the forum and convention center, site of the media center A TGUNAMI OF DATAi Once Bright House Networks finishes its 250,000 upgrades for the Republican National Convention, the resulting network will have the capacity to move 60 billion bits of data per second. That's enough to: emails per second. SEND 57.5 million tweets per second. Download an entire high-definition movie in DOVNLOAD 1secoND million songs over the course of the four-day convention. SPRUCINA UP TAMPA: S99,.500 BEAUTIFICATION 42 $2,200 Cost to beautify Ashley Drive, the main artery into downtown Tampa from l-275. Number of wild date palms planted along Bayshore Boulevard for the convention Cost apiece to the city for the palms Number th Sstorm Debby. All were righted IMPROVEMENTS Number of bridges in downtown Tampa that will be lit up each night in a project called Agua Luces. $500,000 4 Amount Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas are donating to fund the project $1.2g Amount being spent on the Zack Street Promenade of the Arts project, which will overhaul three downtown blocks that lead to Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park with public art, sculptures, signs, trees and shaded benches. MILLION NOW ARBIVING AT TIA ら 6 シ MLON 10 Number of Amount TIA is spending ahead of the RNC for improvements; it represents half the total cost of improvements to the airport. restrooms in the main terminal that A have been made over. Number of new video walls installed; each has 12 monitors for a total of 84. The walls will show promotional videos from local visitors bureaus, as well as ads for local businesses and attractions. Number of new Visitor Information Centers in the baggage claim area. Tampa Bay Times Information from previous Times coverage was used in this graphic, which was compiled by Anne Glover, Times digital content editor. Graphic by Lee Glynn | Times tampabay.com 40 FEET DEEP