Schools: Hosting presidential debates costly, but worth it
DAYTON, Ohio — The first general election presidential debate will take place in September at Wright State University and the Dayton school is preparing to absorb the consequences — good and bad — that come with it.
Hosting a debate is expensive, time-consuming and fraught with potential problems, but those who have hosted past presidential and vice-presidential debates told the Dayton Daily News (http://bit.ly/29oMBQu) the cost is worth it.
“This is like the Super Bowl of politics,” said Bob Fisher, president of Belmont University in Nashville, which hosted one of the 2008 presidential debates at a cost of about $3 million. “I think everybody saw the wisdom of investing in something like this.”
The Wright State debate will cost the university between $5 million and $6 million to put on the debate, according to university president David Hopkins. The school has already paid $1.9 million to the Commission on Presidential Debates to stage and produce the debate.