This diary is for all those hoping to attend Senator Barack Obama's rally here in Albuquerque on Saturday night. First, it's obviously exciting to have Senator Obama coming here with only just over a week to go before election day, and even more so that he is holding his rally with Bill Richardson and...
There will be some star power at Saturday's rally for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
His campaign announced today that actor and comedian George Lopez will attend the rally planned for Saturday evening at Johnson Field on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque.
The rally will be held at Johnson field, which, by the look of it this morning, is ready to hold tens of thousands of people.
I'll post some pictures and directions below the fold.
If you are planning to attend the rally, please get there early. This from UNM's website.
Street and lot closures to begin at 3 p.m.
Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama will come to Johnson Field on the University of New Mexico campus for a political rally this Saturday evening, Oct. 25. The venue will open at 7 p.m. A very large crowd is expected.
Parking Lot and Building Closures
At 3 p.m. Saturday, the following parking lots will close: both A lots (along Central and next to Student Services); D lots (at La Posada, at Laguna/De Vargas, and next to ITS (CIRT)). E lot at Central and Girard will have restricted access after 3 p.m. – vehicles will be able to exit but will not be allowed back in.
Students parking in the D lots who need access to their vehicles will have to move them before 3 p.m. There will be some parking available in the R lots east of Coronado and Redondo Village. Please note that any vehicle in any of the closed lots at 3 p.m. will have to stay there until the lots reopen at midnight.
Johnson Center will close at 3 p.m. The Student Health Center will be closed as usual.
Here is a parking map provided by UNM.
For the best off-campus parking, I would suggest Silver Ave (between Girard and Yale). Otherwise, there is parking on Nob hill, but chances are most of that will be taken up by this afternoon. Again, get there early. I just biked over to see how the line was shaping up, and believe it or not, at 11:30 there was already a few people lining up.
View of Johnson field looking west (about an hour ago).
View of parallel road to Rt. 66 (Central Ave.), with a few early birds.
And KOB is reporting an expected 40.000 turnout.
For the Obama rally, a crowd of about 40,000 is expected. Lt. Pat Davis of the UNM Police Department said his officers are busy with the logistical planning of Obama's event.
"This is a major event for us. We're essentially building a city within a city here today so it's going to be very busy," he said.
Parking is expected to be tough if you arrive late. However, UNM says there is free parking available on campus.
I'll update this as the days events unfold, but for now, if you live around the ABQ metro area, arrive early and bring plenty of water and snacks.