Wildwood is used to handling massive crowds at the Jersey Shore town but usually not in the dead of winter. The resort community is preparing for what’s expected to be thousands of people descending upon the town midweek to witness President Donald Trump’s rally at the Wildwood Convention Center on Jan. 28.

While the convention center holds about 7,000 people, some county officials said they’ve heard at least double that amount of tickets have been issued for the event, in which Trump will endorse newly-minted Republican Jeff Van Drew for his re-election bid in the 2nd Congressional District.

“In the summer, Wildwood has about 150,000 people on any given day in July and August,” Cape May County spokeswoman Diane Wieland said. “With fewer businesses open, it makes that more challenging, but it is Wildwood, and I have no doubt they can do this.”

Wieland said she had heard various estimates for the number of requested tickets for the rally, one as high as 19,000. Wieland said that while plans have still not been finalized, there could be the possibility that the overflow crowds may be able to watch the speech outside at either nearby Fox Park or the boardwalk itself.

Since the news of Trump’s visit was announced, there has been a buzz going on amongst businesses and Trump supporters in Cape May County.

The announcement of the rally sent the demand for hotels in the area up. Some resorts were listing prices as high as $1,000 a night earlier this month. Director of Marketing & Public Relations for the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Authority Ben Rose said some of the room rates in the city are high because properties that have closed for the season keep one room online to keep their account active for the next season. The price is set high with the expectation that no one will book it. Management of one Wildwood hotel, The Bolero Resort, went on Facebook to address the claims that numerous hotels were hiking prices.

“There have been several rumors about the prices that hotels have been charging for the Trump Rally later this month and we feel the need to clarify our position,” the resort wrote in the Facebook statement. “While we could have easily raised our rates for the event, we felt that it would have been in bad taste. We are very grateful to be a part of this historic occasion and are looking forward to hosting all of our valued customers.”

The Bolero said it sold out within 12 hours of the rally announcement at its normal rates of between $103 and $133 a night. As of Tuesday, most hotels in Wildwood city limits were sold out although there was at least one hotel with availability for a queen bed that would cost $525 a night plus taxes. With many locations sold out, the requests for rooms have reached up to places as far away as Atlantic City, all the way down to Cape May.

Wieland said many groups across the county are putting together information to let visitors know what businesses and restaurants will be open, and a few will be opening early to try to take advantage of the large crowds.

“It is a nice bump in tourism for us,” Wieland said. “It certainly is nothing we could ever have planned for or could have counted on. Our business community is excited and hopefully will lead to some more business during the winter months.”

As for the expected large crowds, the convention center and its support staff will be ready, according to Rose.

“Our regular staff is very experienced in handling crowds at the convention center. We are certainly being prepared to feed everybody by opening concession stands and offering food and beverage. I know there will be outdoor port-a-potties, everything to make the people here comfortable.”

As for the estimated amount of tickets being mentioned, Trump Victory Campaign Spokeswoman Ellie Hockenbury said it was common to see a high demand for tickets to see Trump.

“President Trump always packs the house at his rallies, and we expect no different in New Jersey,” Hockenbury said.

Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews or on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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