As the Republican Party of Texas moves forward with plans for an in-person convention next week, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday he has directed his administration to explore ways to cancel the event.

The gathering, set to happen July 16-18, is expected to draw roughly 6,000 attendees to the George R. Brown Convention Center as Harris County continues to be the state's biggest hot spot for the new coronavirus. Party leaders announced Tuesday that elected officials are moving their in-person speeches to videos that will be played for attendees at the convention.

Turner said during a virtual City Council meeting that he has asked the city's legal department to work with the Houston First Corporation, which operates the convention center to review the contract with the state party.

"Where there are provisions that would allow us to cancel this convention — we will exercise those provisions," Turner said. "And the plan is to exercise those provisions to cancel this agreement, this contract, today — to not go forward with this convention."

The Republican Party of Texas is moving forward with its controversial in-person convention during the coronavirus pandemic — but elected officials including Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will be giving their scheduled speeches virtually.

“All the elected officials are switching from a live, in-person speech to videos,” Kyle Whatley, the party’s executive director, said during a town hall livestreamed Tuesday night. “They’re doing that for us in order to focus all the attention on the business of the meeting and to get everybody in and out of here as quickly and as safely as possible.”

Texas Republican officials typically headline their party’s biennial state convention, which this year is scheduled for July 16 to 18 at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center. Roughly 6,000 people are expected to attend the event. Attendees will be required to wear masks during most of the gathering, according to party Chair James Dickey, after Abbott issued a statewide mask mandate last week.

Still, as the state has seen a surge in coronavirus cases, calls have been growing for the party to cancel its event. The State Republican Executive Committee, a 64-member body that serves as the party's governing board, met last week to consider moving the convention online, but it approved a resolution supporting an in-person gathering in a 40-20 vote.