Crowds begin to gather for Obama appearance

Terry England | The New Mexican

2/1/2008 - 2/2/08

A couple hundred people had gathered at Santa Fe Community College by 3:30 p.m. Friday to hear Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for president, even though the doors weren't scheduled to open until 5 p.m.

The events are scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m. at the college's Witter FItness Center Gymnasium, 6401 Richards Ave. (The Web site says 6:30 p.m.) Although campaign staffers don't know how many people actually will attend, the gym can hold about 3,000 people, they said. Overflow crowds will be funneled into a basement room where a television will be set up so they can hear the speech.

And if people still can't get in, the senator has expressed a willingness to meet them outside after the events, the staffers said. Only ticket-holders will be allowed inside. Tickets are available through the campaign's Web site, my.barackobama.com/page/group/SantaFeFolksForObama. The site doesn't say if tickets are still available, but it does note that 4,322 people have signed up as of 4 p.m.

Traffic at the college was light in the early afternoon, police officers told The New Mexican, but they expect it to pick up later.