The ground where the 32-story, $260million Cleveland Hilton will rise was actually pretty well broken by the time city and civic leaders gathered for the ceremonial shovel turn. The excavation is already big enough for four cranes to be sitting in it.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald called the visibility of the hotel project a special plus for Wednesday’s scheduled visit of the Republican National Convention’s advance team.

But the team won’t be looking for a grand presentation with celebrities and galas: In fact, for this visit, just the opposite.

“Not on this one. This is just for technical people.
This is to make sure that we have the technical ability to pull this off. And you know, there were other cities that were already eliminated that were putting a lot of resources and lot of money into wining and dining people.
But you can’t wine and dine your way past the facts.
You have to be able to actually be able to pull this thing off.  And that’s where we’ve really shined with projects like this one.”