Centennial Hall bypassed as Clinton speech site

Associated Press Arizona Daily Wildcat President Clinton talks with reporters in the Oval Office as he met with congressional leaders Monday.

"Our site guys...decided that the best venue was the TCC," said Roger Salazar, assistant White House press secretary. "I don't know that any one factor would override."

Clinton is scheduled to arrive at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base tomorrow at 11:30, where he will be escorted to the TCC for a noon speech. Officials said he will discuss Social Security and Medicare during the talk.

The remainder of Clinton's day is apparently open, but is surrounded by hints from the White House that the president will play golf. Clinton is scheduled to depart from Davis-Monthan at 5:30, making his way to San Francisco.

Nowhere in the president's schedule does it indicate that he will visit the University of Arizona.

Clarence Boykins, assistant director of the TCC, said White House security experts were happy with the parking-lot access at the convention center.

"In the conversation, one of the things was accessibility of parking," Boykins said. "Our parking lots are right close to the building."

Boykins said the UA's Centennial Hall, which has 2,456 seats, fits more audience members than the TCC's 2,200-chair Music Hall, but does not share several of the TCC's strongpoints that appealed to White House representatives, including accessible parking.

"I know that in the conversations, one guy said, 'I like the parking,'" Boykins said.

Marlis Davis, director of UA Parking and Transportation Services, said parking accessibility is irrelevant to this situation.

"There should be no issue," she said. "There's a parking lot in the back of Centennial Hall."

Davis said an 81-space lot, combined with a 42-space area near North Park Avenue would have been sufficient during the presidential visit.

"Believe me, the access would have been there," she said. "If the president came in, they would have come in and closed everything down. Nobody ever checked with me."

All public tickets that were available for Clinton's speech at the TCC have been distributed by Pima County and the Tucson City mayor's office.

Despite possible parking problems, some UA students said Clinton should visit the university.

Nick Bambury, a business and marketing freshman, said the UA "is the biggest thing in Tucson," therefore Clinton is obligated to make an appearance.

But Kimberly Terpe, an English and creative writing freshman, said Clinton should skip the golf and "visit some local prisons."

She said his indiscretions throughout the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal and subsequent impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives should land him a spot in jail.

"I personally feel that's where he belongs so he ought to get used to it," she said.