ASU's Gammage Auditorium may be host to one of the three 2004 U.S. presidential candidate debates if Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano gets his way.
After 11 years of negotiations between the city and the University, an application to host a debate will be submitted to the Commission on Presidential Debates later this week.
"I've been working on this since 1992," Giuliano said. "And now everything is coming together."
Giuliano said he's wanted to see another presidential debate on ASU's campus since he was a freshman at the University in 1974, when Barry Goldwater and Edward Kennedy came to speak on campus on the same day.
"I've always viewed ASU as the best place where leaders can talk to students and the community," Giuliano said.
ASU President Michael Crow said the national exposure that comes with hosting a presidential debate on campus is "immeasurable."
"It is also an opportunity to draw on the political and media elite to our university and give them first-hand exposure to the ASU experience," Crow said.
Gammage Auditorium would be "the finest facility" to host a presidential debate, Giuliano said. He added that former Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan have already spoken there.
Giuliano also said the Memorial Union and other University facilities would be used for press services and campaign activities.
He said the city of Tempe would submit its application to host the debate on Wednesday or Thursday.
If selected, Tempe officials will have to pay $750,000 to the debate commission to host one of the three major 2004 debates, said Janet Brown, executive director of the commission.
The money will cover production costs for the debate, Brown added. In return for investing $750,000 in the debate, Guiliano expects the city will gain international exposure.
If Tempe is chosen, Giuliano said city officials would create a committee to raise the $750,000 from corporations, political parties and private individuals.
Brown said 12 to 16 cities usually apply for the debates, and commission directors will make their three final selections by November.
According to the selection criteria for cities wanting to host a debate, 2,500 hotel rooms must be made available for the event.
During the 2000 presidential election cycle, debates were held at the University of Massachusetts, Wake Forest University and Washington University.
"It's a tremendous opportunity," Giuliano said. "We have a strong, compelling case for holding a debate."
Reach the reporter at meagan.pollnow@asu.edu.
