NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee - Belmont Will Host Presidential Debate

Belmont Will Host Presidential Debate

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville's Belmont University will host one of the Presidential debates leading up to the 2008 Election.

The debate will be held October 7 at the university's Curb Center - less than one month before the general election. The announcement was made Monday afternoon by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

"What a great day for Belmont, and what a great day for Nashville, and what a great day for Tennessee. We had full support of the folks here at Belmont. We had full support of our great city, Nashville, and we had tremendous support from across the state, to bring this the first...It's the first debate ever in Tennessee, to Belmont's campus," said Belmont's President, Bob Fisher.

The debate will be the second of three presidential debates. The first will be held at the University of Mississippi on September 26. The third will be held October 15 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

Read Belmont's official press release
Read the CPD's official press release

Washington University in St. Louis , Missouri will host one vice presidential debate on October 2.

The October 7th event will be use a "town hall" format with the audience proposing questions directly to the candidates. It is expected to be viewed by millions worldwide.

This will be the first time presidential candidates have debated in Tennessee since the Commission on Presidential Debates was established in 1987.

The CPD was established in 1987 by both the Republican and Democratic Parties. The non-profit, nonpartisan organization produces presidential and vice presidential debates.

Belmont was one of 16 locations vying for a debate. Centre College in Danville, Kentucky also applied to host a debate.

Belmont was founded in 1890 as a private college. The school earned university status in 1991.