1992 Republican National Convention
The 1992 Republican National Convention was held in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, from August 17 to August 20, 1992. The convention nominated President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for reelection. It was Bush's fourth consecutive appearance as a candidate on a major party ticket; only Bush and Franklin D. Roosevelt have been nominated on four consecutive presidential tickets. Richard Nixon and Roosevelt were nominated five times, but not consecutively.
Convention
Venue logistics[edit]
The Astrodome had been renovated recently before its selection as the convention's location.[1] For the convention, the stadium was arranged to seat 36,000 people.[3]
To accommodate the convention and its set-up, the Houston Astros, the Major League Baseball team which played at the Astrodome, played 26 consecutive away games over 28 days, the longest Major League Baseball "road trip" since the Philadelphia Phillies played 27 away games in 28 days in 1944.[4] Additionally, the National Football League's Houston Oilers would also be forced to play all their preseason games on the road.[5] The Major League Baseball Players Association had filed an unsuccessful grievance in October 1991 in an attempt to block the planned 26-game road trip by the Astros. The Major League Baseball Players Association took issue with the Houston Sports Association (owners of the Astrodome) renting the stadium to the Republican National Convention organizers from July 27 through August 23, 1992, without first seeking permission from the National League, and their grievance sought to shorten the length of the road trip, arguing that the 26-game road trip went against the National League's constitution.[6][7]
Aftermath[edit]
The convention energized the Republican base, giving the Bush-Quayle ticket a bounce in the polls.[18] As the bounce faded, the race returned to a lopsided double-digit Clinton–Gore lead.[19] The race narrowed considerably, however, when Ross Perot rebooted his insurgent campaign.[20]
The major parties have avoided hosting their conventions at baseball stadiums since then, now holding them in non sports venues (such as convention centers) and venues for teams whose seasons are not currently in play at the time of the convention.