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D E M O C R A T I C

N A T I O N A L

C O N V E N T I O N

Arena to Convention Hall

GRAPHICS BY DAVID PUCKETT
dpuckett@charlotteobserver.com

From

Featured speakers
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
at Bank of America Stadium

The configuration

For the first time in decades, the stage at the convention hall is at the end of the arena, not the middle. The reason? Organizers said it would require removal of fewer seats -- and cost less.

Julian Castro

San Antonio mayor and the partys first Latino keynoter, he wont help Democrats carry Texas, but could appeal to Hispanic voters that both parties crave.

Michelle Obama

Polls have consistently shown her popular with Americans, more than her husband.

Elizabeth Warren

Harvard law professor, consumer watchdog and Senate candidate in Massachusetts is popular with Democratic base, but not Wall Street.

BIll Clinton

The last Democratic president to enjoy a good economy and a second term hopes to transfer the magic.

Joe Biden

His appeal to middle-class voters will amplify the conventions theme.

Barack Obama

The President will close convention with acceptance speech.

Speakers from North Carolina

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx Former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan Former N.C. Governor Jim Hunt U.S. Rep David Price of Chapel Hill U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, whose district includes uptown Charlotte Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton of North Carolina, running for governor

TEXT BY JIM MORRILL and KAREN GARLOCH

jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com kgarloch@charlotteobserver.com

Time Warner Cable Arena, home of the Charlotte Bobcats, has been transformed with $7 million for the Democratic National Convention, the center of the political universe for two nights this week. About 400 seats were removed to make way for the the stage, podium and television cameras. Carpet was laid throughout to protect the basketball court from damage. The stage set-up allows speakers to be surrounded by delegates on three sides and features a multi-million dollar array of screens, jutting 60 feet high, to display magnified images of speakers and performers.

SOUTH DAKOTA MINNESOTA PUERTO RICO WISCONSIN

The Charlotte Bobcats practice courts were transformed into a media area.

Media center

SOUTH CAROLINA MONTANA MINNESOTA NEBRASKA MICHIGAN MICHIGAN NEW HAMPSHIRE DELAWARE WASHINGTON

1
STAGE

ALASKA OHIO WISCONSIN WISCONSIN ILLINOIS NORTH CAROLINA ILLINOIS COLORADO NORTH CAROLINA HAWAII RHODE ISLAND PENNSYLVANIA UTAH NEVADA NEVADA IOWA CAMERAS VIRGIN ISLANDS OREGON PENNSYLVANIA CONNECTICUT LOUISIANA MISSISSIPPI

Other speakers
Former President Jimmy Carter (by video) U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Caroline Kennedy Obama Campaign Co-Chair Eva Longoria House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina Georgetown Law School Graduate Sandra Fluke U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts Womens rights activist Lilly Ledbetter Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

NEBRASKA

Talk show row

5 2
ALASKA

ILLINOIS FLORIDA MICHIGAN COLORADO VIRGINIA

GUAM

VERMONT

GEORGIA FLORIDA DEMOCRATS ABROAD WYOMING VIRGINIA

GEORGIA IDAHO

What the event means

16,000 250 15,000 7 20 400
FIF
Hotel rooms booked in more than 160 hotels. Buses to be used to transport delegates. Members of the media attending. Weeks of around the clock work to transform the arena into a convention hall. Miles of cables installed for the convention. Seats removed for the stage, podium and cameras.
NEW YORK

KANSAS TEXAS INDIANA

NEW MEXICO

MASSACHUSETTS TEXAS CALIFORNIA TEXAS TENNESSEE CALIFORNIA CAMERAS CALIFORNIA

KENTUCKY

DELEGATE GUEST ENTRANCE

ALABAMA NEW YORK

WEST VIRGINIA

TH

NEW YORK

TENNESSEE

OKLAHOMA

Factoids
The top suites in Time Warner Arena will be home to network and cable studios. A parade of VIPs and talking heads will make the rounds.

ST
RE

MAINE ARKANSAS

Top row

ET
Talk show row
DELEGATE GUEST ENTRANCE

N. DAKOTA CALIFORNIA MARYLAND MISSOURI DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

NEW JERSEY

ARIZONA

That would be for Illinois and Delaware, home states of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. North Carolina also has a front-row seat.

Best seating?

Location
W .6 th St

Biggest delegations
Eight states have more than 160 delegates: California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

FRAZIER PARK

UPTOWN CHARLOTTE
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATE CENTER

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TIME WARNER CABLE ARENA
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DELEGATE GUEST ENTRANCE

Around 5,963 delegates will take part in this years convention. Thats up from 4,419 in 2008.

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Battleground seats
PLAZA
Some of the best seats in the house? Those go to delegates from host state North Carolina, Delaware (Bidens home state), and Illinois (Obamas home state). Right behind them, seats on the floor go to delegates from Virginia, Colorado, Iowa and Nevada, all swing states. Ohio and Pennsylvania, key states too, arent on the floor but just to the right of the stage.

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The conventions smallest delegation with 22. A reliably red state but with only three electoral votes.

No one traveled further than delegates from Guam, who were in the air for 17 hours.

SOURCES: Democratic National Convention Committee, Staff Writers Jim Morrill, Karen Garloch, Tim Funk and Celeste Smith

Copyright 2012

All Rights Reserved

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Katie Hurley may hail from Sarah Palins hometown of Wasilla, but her politics are a lot different. One of the oldest delegates at 91, Hurley even helped work on Alaska statehood in the late 1950s.

One of the bluest states in the country has the biggest delegation: 609. A bigger number for the Obama campaign: 55. Thats the number of the states electoral votes safely in the presidents column.

Wyoming

Guam

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