President Barack Obama plans to usher in what he hopes will be a second four-year term in the White House at an election-night rally at a huge convention center near downtown Chicago, a campaign official said on Wednesday.
The event will likely draw thousands of supporters to the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago, Obama's hometown and the site of his re-election campaign headquarters.
Supporters are expected to watch the voting results come in and then hear a speech by the incumbent Democrat who faces Republican Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and private equity executive, in the November 6 general election.
More than 200,000 revelers flooded Chicago's Grant Park after Obama beat John McCain in 2008 to become the first black U.S. president.
McCormick Place attracts close to 3 million visitors each year and has assembly seating for 18,000 people, according to its website.
The campaign official declined to discuss why the event would not be held in Grant Park.
The official, who declined to speak on the record, said plans for the rally were still being worked out and declined to say how many people the campaign expects to attend.
© Thomson Reuters.
