Obama Speech Moving Indoors -- Underwritten by American Petroleum Institute
President Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention will be moved indoors, convention organizers said on Wednesday.
Possible thunderstorms are forecast for Thursday night, when the president had been scheduled to close the convention with a speech at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium, which holds more than 73,000 people.
“We have been monitoring weather forecasts closely and several reports predict thunderstorms in the area, therefore we have decided to move Thursday’s proceedings to Time Warner Cable Arena to ensure the safety and security of our delegates and convention guests,” said Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Steve Kerrigan.
Moving Obama to the much smaller Time Warner Arena, which holds about 22,000, could be seen as something of a political letdown after Obama accepted his party’s nomination in 2008 at Denver’s Invesco Field. But organizers also feared the possiblity of televised images of Obama speaking to a half-empty stadium.
