Almost two years before the event is to be held, the Republican National Committee has decided where it will hold the 2016 Republican National Convention: Cleveland.

The GOP sealed the deal in Chicago on Friday, according to The Chicago Sun Times, during the RNC's summer meeting in the city. The event will be held in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena, known as "The Q," as well as the Progressive Field.

Chris Connor, CEO of paint company Sherwin-Williams and co-chair of the Cleveland host committee, said that they had managed to raise around $30 million and will raise the rest in the coming two years, according to the Sun Times.

The party announced their decision to host the convention in the Ohio city back in early July, according to NBC News, but did not make it official until the meeting on Friday.

In a unanimous vote, the committee decided on Cleveland, according to The Associated Press, however, the host committee still needs to fulfill its promise to raise a $60 million contribution. The host committee's executive chairman, Terry Eggers, declined to tell the news agency the amount they had raised up to then but explained most of the fundraising had been local and were planning to expand.

"We'll collectively pursue national opportunities," he told AP. "It will be corporate primarily, but it could be private, too."

However, the GOP also picked the city because of Ohio's crucial role during the elections as well as RNC chairman Reince Preibus's wish to hold the convention earlier than usual.

Cleveland, nonetheless, is a heavily Democratic city with a Democratic mayor, Frank Jackson. He attended the meeting on Friday, according to The Hill, to partake in the ceremony and joked about the incoming convention.

"It doesn't matter if they're sitting in a corporate boardroom or they're standing in line at a homeless shelter, everyone is talking about this convention, and they're enthusiastic about it," Jackson said about the homeless' excitement over the 2016 convention.

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