Obama's DNC speech could move to Bank of America stadium
Report: Democrats struggle with raising cash
President Barack Obama's re-election campaign is considering moving the final day of the Democratic National Convention to Bank of America Stadium to sell more skyboxes to wealthy donors, three Democrats involved in the fundraising told Bloomberg News.
The 74,000-seat home of the Carolina Panthers also would have room for the convention to sell more floor passes close to the stage. Planners are struggling to meet a $36.6 million fundraising goal, according to the Democrats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter.
Other Democrats involved deny fundraising problems.
In a Tuesday night statement, convention CEO Steve Kerrigan said: "Decisions about convention planning are driven by engaging more people in the process, not by money."
Also Tuesday, some Democrats told the Observer that they hope Obama gives his acceptance speech at the stadium so that more people can see it in person.
Obama advisers are aware of the political downside of the president delivering his nationally televised acceptance in a stadium named for a bank that considered imposing a fee that he said would have "mistreated" customers, sources told Bloomberg. That would be outweighed, they said, by the chance to lure more big-dollar contributors to cover the convention's costs.
Joanne Peters, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Convention Committee, told Bloomberg: "We plan to hold the convention at the Time Warner Cable Arena."
An outdoor finale for the convention would echo the atmosphere of four years ago in Denver, when Obama accepted his party's nomination at night at Invesco Field.
The administration has had a mixed relationship with Bank of America Corp. In May 2010, Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama, praised Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan for having a "level of corporate responsibility beyond the bank."
Last October, Obama criticized a planned $5 monthly fee that Bank of America was going to charge its debit card users. He said that while banks have a right to set fees, he questioned the bank's explanation for the new charge.
"People have been using financial regulation as an excuse to charge consumers more," Obama said at a White House news conference on Oct. 6.
Following complaints from consumers, the bank shelved its plans to impose the fee.
Restrictions on funds
The convention committee is having difficulty raising money because it's prohibited from taking funds from corporations and lobbyists, which parties have relied on in the past for nominating conventions, the three Democratic sources said.
Charlotte businessman Cameron Harris, one of the host committee's top fundraisers, told the Observer that having Obama give his acceptance speech in the Panthers' stadium "was a possibility ... from the very beginning."
He said he had heard of no new plans to sell skyboxes for the event, and even said he had heard that the stadium option might not happen in the end.
"When dealing with the people up there, things change all the time," he said referring to the Democratic
National Committee. "It's a moving target."
In-kind contributions
The host committee is trying to work around the fundraising restrictions, imposed by Obama, by asking for in-kind contributions from corporations and accepting unlimited funds from nonprofit organizations, such as charitable foundations associated with major corporations.
While the convention itself is abiding by the rules, the host committee is raising up to $15 million in
corporate and large individual donations.
"We are not trying to work around any restrictions," host committee spokeswoman Suzi Emmerling said Tuesday night.
"The limits are very clear for the convention fundraising rules. ... If a corporation is interested in providing an in-kind donation that offers budget relief, their donation will be considered."
Jim Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy Corp. and chairman of the Charlotte host committee, has tried to clarify the rules for potential donors.
At a Dec. 15 briefing at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, Rogers and Kerrigan met with Beltway insiders, including lobbyists.
Convention officials say they were "educating" their audience about the new restrictions.
Fundraising 'on track'
Emmerling challenged the notion that the host committee was having a difficult time raising money.
"Our fundraising is right on track," she said.
Neither she nor other convention officials have said how much they've raised.
Harris told the Observer he has personally raised "pretty close to" $1 million.
"It hasn't been easy," Harris said of the host committee's fundraising efforts. "But there's no question in my mind it's going to happen."
Another member of the host committee, a Democratic activist who asked not to be identified, told the Observer that host committee leaders have said the Obama restrictions have made it tough to raise money, but they believe it will be done.
"Are they working hard and losing sleep over it? Yes," the source told the Observer. "But they didn't seem at all desperate. ... I don't have inside information, but I think they're over halfway there, though."
The Republican convention is the week of Aug. 27 in Tampa. It will accept contributions from lobbyists and corporations, said a spokesman.
Bloomberg News and Charlotte Observer staff writers Tim Funk and Jim Morrill contributed
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