The Republican GOP debate made Milwaukee the epicenter of politics this week, and welcomed thousands to the city. But Wednesday's event is only the beginning, as Milwaukee prepares to host the Republican National Convention in 2024. The nationally televised debate brought thousands to Milwaukee for the very first time. "I had absolutely no preconceived notions about Milwaukee except that, you know, it's a kind of a big city — a big, little city," said Mari Stull, who attended the debate. "I loved it! It was so great."As debate attendees left the city Thursday, the excitement didn't leave with them. All eyes remain on Milwaukee, as the Republican nominees for president and vice president will be selected on stage inside Fiserv Forum next July."Looking ahead to the RNC, do you feel that the debate was sort of a test run for next summer?" asked 12 News' Mallory Anderson."I think this whole week has been an opportunity to get infrastructure in place, understand what we need to do for next summer, and also really start bringing economic opportunity to the city, to the state," said Alison Prange, the COO of the Milwaukee 2024 Host Committee. "We're really excited about that."While things went smoothly for the debate, now the real work begins, as the RNC will welcome seven times the amount of visitors over five days."It was such a small scale compared to what's going to happen in 2024, when you talk about 7,000 versus 50,000," said Peggy Williams-Smith, the president and CEO of Visit Milwaukee. "I thought everything was executed really, really well. But obviously, we still have work to do before we get to the big event."The Milwaukee 2024 Host Committee predicts July's RNC will have at least a $200 million economic impact on the city."People should be excited that we are so lucky to have this chance, no matter your politics," Prange said. "This is a nonpartisan opportunity to help Milwaukee for the future."