By Xinhua,
Washington : U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama would receive his nomination at a grand stadium in Denver, Colorado, instead of a hall as originally planned, according to a TV report on Monday.
The Illinois senator was expected to receive his moment as the party’s presidential nominee on Aug. 28 at the 75,000-seat INVESCO Field at Mile High that could hold much larger audience, the Democratic national convention organizers told CNN.
The convention was originally scheduled at the Pepsi Center, where there are about 20,000 seats.
The move of changing location was portrayed as a reflection of Obama’s success at encouraging people to vote for the first time, organizers said.
“Barack Obama’s campaign for change has inspired millions of Americans and brought people into the political process who might never have been involved,” said Katheleen Sebelius, Kansas governor who co-chairs the convention. “His change in the convention program will allow thousands of first-time participants a chance to take part.”
His Republican rival, John McCain, was expected to receive his nomination at the party’s national convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in early September.
In related U.S. media reports, the candidate’s airplane was unscheduledly landed in St. Louis on Monday en route to North Carolina due to some technical problems.
The MD-80 Midwest charter suffered from a problem maintaining the proper pitch, or control over keeping the nose at the proper angle, about one hour after it took off from Chicago from which it took off, according to the pilot.
A mechanic on the plane was still inspecting the problem on the ground in St. Louis, the reports said.