The Republican National Convention is headed to The Cleve in 2016.  

The party’s site selection committee has picked Cleveland as the host city for the quadrennial conference that will nominate the GOP’s presidential ticket over the other finalist, Dallas.  

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told Fox News Tuesday that the convention will either start on June 28 or July 18.  

Top Ohio Republicans in Congress — Sen. Rob Portman and House Speaker John A. Boehner — lobbied the RNC to bring the convention to the lakeside city. Supporters argued the city could host more delegates near the Quicken Loans Arena and there were political benefits of picking a swing state like Ohio.  

But the decision likely came down to timing. Republicans wanted to move the convention to earlier in the summer so their presumptive nominee could take advantage of fundraising for the general election. The Cleveland Host Committee offered a June date to host the convention, but Republicans would have had to wait until July to have a Dallas confab.

The RNC will now begin contract negotiations with Cleveland. The full RNC membership will vote on the host city during their August meeting, but Republicans consider that mostly a pro forma measure.  

Kyle Trygstad contributed to this report.