Marquette University will no longer house Democratic National Convention-related guests

Marquette University will no longer house Milwaukee visitors who had planned to travel here for the Democratic National Convention, campus officials said Monday.

"With the announcement last week that the Democratic nominee for president will no longer travel to Milwaukee to accept the nomination, the remaining convention-related guests who were planning to stay in the university's residence halls have canceled," Marquette spokeswoman Lynn Griffith said in a statement. "There will be no guests staying on campus during the convention, which is slated to take place virtually Aug. 17-20. As previously communicated, there will also be no convention-related events on campus."

Late last month, the university said it was expecting about one-third of Marquette's residence hall rooms to be occupied by DNC-related guests.

The news is the latest blow to Milwaukee area institutions, hotels and businesses, which had initially expected to host as many as 50,000 visitors for the convention. The event has been dramatically scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the now virtual convention is expected to bring just a tiny fraction of that.

Organizers in late June told state delegations not to travel to Milwaukee, moved the convention from Fiserv Forum to the nearby Wisconsin Center and added satellite events around the country. Then, what was left of an in-person convention evaporated last week when organizers announced Joe Biden wouldn't be traveling to Milwaukee to give his presidential acceptance speech.

Neither will any of the other convention speakers.

Dorms are often picked to house large groups at lower cost while staying in close proximity to events like the convention. The DNC host committee initially claimed hundreds of rooms in residence halls at Milwaukee-area colleges and universities. 

Marquette had planned to use revenue from guests staying on campus during the convention for student scholarships.

Contact Mary Spicuzza at (414) 224-2324 or mary.spicuzza@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJS.