CHARLOTTE, N.C. President Barack Obama will now deliver his acceptance speech Thursday at Time Warner Cable Arena after forecasts about severe weather led officials to move the event out of Bank of America Stadium.
The move, which was announced on Wednesday, could create a logistics headache as officials must now announce how they’ll accommodate everyone who was expected to attend the speech.
Obama campaign officials said they expect 65,000 to attend the stadium speech, including delegates, guests and other members of the public who had received community credentials.
Meanwhile, the arena has 15,000 seats for the DNC, organizers have said.
On Wednesday, the Democratic National Convention Committee said officials have been monitoring weather forecasts closely.
DNCC chief executive officer Steve Kerrigan said that with several reports predicting thunderstorms in the area Thursday, officials decided to move the speech to the arena to “ensure the safety and security of our delegates and convention guests.”
“The energy and enthusiasm for our convention in Charlotte has been overwhelming and we share the disappointment of over 65,000 people who signed up for community credentials to be there with the President in person,” Kerrigan said in a news release. “We encourage our community credential holders and Americans across the country to continue to come together with their friends and neighbors to watch and participate in history.”
On Tuesday, DNCC officials confirmed the arena was being considered as a backup site for the acceptance speech in case of bad weather.
But organizers have not said where the overflow of people would go at the arena.
Charlotte will see a 40 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms during the day Thursday, and that probability will decrease to 20 to 30 percent Thursday evening, said James Oh, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Thursday’s high temperature will be around 87 degrees, while the evening’s low will be 70 degrees, Oh said.
Robbie Akhere, a statewide Obama delegate from Mecklenburg County, said Tuesday she expects the president will get a rousing reception regardless of the venue. She called the arena an excellent backup choice.
“Some people think the president is God and can control the weather,” Akhere said. “But I think they’d understand” if the event was moved. She also has heard talk about some nearby locations offering live-stream viewing of the president’s speech in the event of a venue change.
Akhere, attending her first convention, said she would not mind sitting in the rain to hear Obama speak. “We sit in the rain for football games. This would be a wonderful opportunity for the world to see us sit in the rain and hear” the president.
