The media are expected to double the population at Lynn University for the third and final presidential debate and there is no get-in-for-free about it. They will be expected to pay for their time on campus -- and pay plenty.
With limited space for the Monday night contest -- most credentialed members of the Fourth Estate covering the event wont be inside the Wold Performing Arts Center for the actual debate -- leaders at the 50-year-old independent campus in the heart of Boca Raton have presented those credentialed for the event with a rate card.
A media filing center workspace for a single reporter, in the deHoernle Sports and Cultural Center, is $40.
The workspace with wireless access, $500.
Got a network trailer? Parking is $2,150.
Network platform space in the debate hall, $5,500.
Want to get into the post-debate Spin Alley for interviews, $350.
The costs are hoped to offset the estimated $5 million being spent by Lynn on the debate logistics.
The rates are nothing new and compared with the rates for the second debate at Hofstra University in New York, something of a bargain.
At Hofstra, reporters -- really, their companies -- were charged $40 for on-campus workspace, with network platform space at $6,000 and entrance to the usually standing-room-only Spin Alley at $400.
The debate between President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney is hoped to put a positive spin on the campus that two years ago was heartbreak central when four students and two faculty members were killed during an earthquake that devastated Haiti.
The campus, of 2,200 students, will be invaded by an army of 2,500 to 3,000 reporters for what could be the pivotal event of the tight contest that comes two weeks before Election Day -- in one of the key swing states.
The contest begins at 9 a.m. and is expected to last 90 minutes.
The debate, to be moderated by "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer, is to have an identical format to the first presidential debate and will focus on foreign policy
The debate kicks off a half-hour after the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears first butt heads in Monday Night Football action.
The World Series doesnt open until Wednesday.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
