RNC impact: $345M.

The calculations in a yet-to-be released report by the organizing committee fall short of pre-convention projections, but are nonetheless seen as a triumph.

They said it wasn't about the money.

But now that the hoopla surrounding the Republican National Convention is months gone, Mayor John F. Street, Philadelphia 2000 host committee members and city officials are mulling just that -- the money.

The city, in fact, made a lot of money while the Republicans were in town, Street said.

"I knew it was going to he good," the mayor said. "I didn't know it was going to be great."

How great?

More than $345 million in direct and indirect spending.

A complete report on the convention's economic impact, which fills a binder at least an inch or so thick, awaits an official announcement and trumpeting by the mayor.

However, officials, in the Street administration and Philadelphia 2000 this week confirmed some of the major economic impact numbers that can be found in the report:

* Convention delegates and the media booked 111,000 room-nights, creating hotel revenues of about $25 million (not including hotel tax, which increased 30 percent, about $1.8 million, during July and September).

* Hotels sold about $6.5 million in food and beverages, which the report called a "disappointment" to many, but still a "strong" showing.

* About $6 million was …