DENVER—More than half the 75,000-plus seats for Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Denver Broncos’ football stadium will go to residents of Colorado, a battleground state in the presidential election, Democratic Party officials said Wednesday.
All told, nearly two-thirds of the seats will go to Western and Southwestern states, which party officials see as growth areas.
“You don’t have to be a delegate or party insider to witness this historic moment firsthand,” Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Leah Daughtry said.
She said the ticket selection was designed “to showcase the gains the party has made in the West.”
Convention committee spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth declined to say how many tickets would be issued, saying the party does not discuss individual credentialing.
By Wednesday evening, more than 20,000 people had requested tickets, said Stephanie Mueller, a spokeswoman for the Obama campaign in Colorado.
The party announced last month that Obama would accept the presidential nomination on Aug. 28 at Invesco Field at Mile High instead of the 21,000-seat Pepsi Center, where the rest of the convention will be held. The move will cost $5 million.
The convention starts Aug. 25.
People requesting credentials for Obama’s speech will be interviewed to make sure they have solid plans for getting to the stadium and have a place to stay, Daughtry said.
“We want to make sure every seat is full,” she said.
Republicans and independents are also invited, said Federico Pena, Obama’s national campaign co-chairman.
“This is not Barack Obama’s convention. This is America’s convention,” said Pena, a former Denver mayor who served as transportation and energy secretary under President Clinton.
Pena said people hoping for a ticket can call 888-468-7404. The phone number was ringing busy shortly after the instructions were announced. The phone lines will be open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Residents outside Colorado can request tickets anytime through ; those inside Colorado can go to .
Coloradans can also apply at Obama campaign offices in the state.
People awarded the “community credentials” to attend will be notified by email or text messages starting Tuesday.
Daughtry said people who receive credentials and try to sell them on Web sites like eBay risk having bar codes on the tickets voided.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement citing Democratic gains in the West and saying the party wants to open the convention to the public.
“There is a growing movement for positive change in Colorado, the West and across the country, and what better way to foster it than to have more Americans participate in the fourth night of the convention,” Pelosi said.
Obama campaign officials said last week they hope to turn the stadium crowd into a giant phone bank, using their cell phones to ask friends and others to register and vote.
“There will be a lot of idle time” as the crowd waits for Obama to speak, Obama adviser Steve Hildebrand said. “We put idle people to work.”
———
Associated Press Writer Catherine Tsai contributed to this report.
