Chapel Hill resident Terri Turner had planned to watch President Barack Obama’s speech Thursday night from the seats of Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
But after heavy rain and thunderstorm forecasts forced Democratic National Convention organizers to move the speech indoors, Turner and her son were among the estimated 65,000 looking for another place to watch Obama accept his nomination for re-election.
“I understand their decision,” she said. “Electricity, giant televisions, rain and lightning are not a good mix.”
Instead, she said her family would watch Obama speak from her home.
“Even my Republican mother-in-law is planning to join us,” she said.
Convention officials announced Wednesday that the speech would be moved from Bank of America Stadium to the smaller Time Warner Cable Arena, which holds about 15,000 people.
About 75,000 people had received community, or public, credentials to attend Obama’s speech.
None of those people were admitted into the arena, though Obama held a conference call with those credential holders Thursday.
“For a politico like me, this feels like having a Super Bowl ticket — and being stuck at home watching the game with the parents,” said Russell McIntyre, a vice president of UNC Young Democrats.
