Larger venue for Obama's historic speech sought in June

DNC also looked at Coors Field, one official says

By James Paton, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 8, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

Invesco Field at Mile High could cost $150,000 to rent for an evening, according to an official with the stadium district.

The organizers of the Democratic National Convention toured Coors Field last month and later inquired about holding Barack Obama's historic speech at an even larger venue, Invesco Field at Mile High.

That's according to Ray Baker, the chairman of the Metropolitan Football Stadium District. Baker said he referred the Democrats to the Denver Broncos and believed the two sides were working out a contract.

The Democratic hosts would pay the "market rate" to rent out the football stadium, an amount Baker said could be around $150,000. But the overall cost to put on the show could soar into the millions as the hosts of the party's national convention make changes at the 76,000-seat stadium.

"We're happy to showcase Invesco," Baker said, adding that shifting the event to the football stadium would bring more people to Denver and would boost the economic impact for the city.

Baker said he didn't know the purpose of the trip to Coors Field but the stadium district was contacted last Thursday about the possibility of shifting Obama's acceptance speech to Invesco Field at Mile High.

Officials with the Denver Broncos on Monday did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

Chris Lopez, a spokesman for the Denver 2008 Host Committee, said Monday that he was unsure if a formal agreement had been ironed out with the Broncos.

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said moving the final night of the Aug. 25-28 convention to the stadium would cost more but would open up the event to more people.

A special block of "community" tickets will be reserved for Colorado residents, with more details coming soon, according to organizers of the event.

patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2544

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