Jan. 7--Mark your chads and your calendars -- the Republican National Convention is coming to town. 

The national GOP will stage its first-ever presidential convention in Madison Square Garden in August 2004, marking a daring incursion by Republicans into a city where Democrats still outnumber them 5 to 1. 

The city's winning bid was announced yesterday by Mayor Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned-Republican who hailed the convention as a huge boon for the city and the GOP. 

"I am thrilled," Bloomberg said. "This is the place of opportunity, and if the Republican Party wants to make the case that they can represent everybody, this is the place to go and do it." 

At least 35,000 Republicans -- plus 15,000 reporters -- are expected to converge on Madison Square Garden for the four-day event, which City Hall estimated will spin off $150 million to $200 million in hotel bookings, restaurant tabs and other economic activity. 

The announcement came after the Republican National Committee's Site Selection Committee voted unanimously to back New York, which edged out Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla., and New Orleans. The full RNC must still vote on the recommendation this month, but insiders said the deal is as good as sealed. 

Party officials believe that the city -- with its diversity and its resilience after Sept. 11 -- can provide a unique backdrop for President Bush, who has made battling terrorism a centerpiece of his first term. 

The selection will come at a price. The event's budget is estimated at $80 million -- $53 million of which Bloomberg has committed to raise privately. The other $27 million will be spent by the city for police, sanitation and other costs. 

The deal includes a temporary pedestrian bridge that will span Eighth Ave. to connect Madison Square Garden to the Farley Post Office Building. Some 330,000 square feet of the building will house the convention's media center. 

Experts emphasized, however, that city coffers should get a healthy payback. 

"At the end of the day, the economic return will be several times what is spent, both publicly and privately," said Henry Miller, who oversaw the Democrat's 1992 convention at the Garden. 

The city's selection comes after six months of lobbying by Bloomberg and special adviser Kevin Sheekey, who will remain in charge of convention planning. The privately funded campaign included an August visit during which RNC members were taken by horse-drawn carriage from the Plaza Hotel to dinner at Bloomberg's 79th St. townhouse with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The next day featured breakfast at Tiffany's and lunch at the New York Stock Exchange. 

It wrapped up Dec. 4 at the Post House, where Bloomberg broke bread with presidential adviser Karl Rove, Madison Square Garden chief Chuck Dolan and Roland Betts, who heads Chelsea Piers and is one of Bush's closest friends. 

Along the way, Bloomberg secured the support of the city's unions, which promised not to strike during the convention, and hoteliers, which have guaranteed some 22,000 rooms at a modest $156 a night. 

"We never made an emotional argument that they should come to New York because of 9/11," Sheekey said. "That may have factored into their decisions, but we focused on giving them the best deal we could." 

With Frank Lombardi and Joe Mahoney 

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