Inn to Serve as Media Headquarters for Presidential Debate

The Inn at Ole Miss will serve as the media headquarters for the first presidential debate of 2008, which will be held on the Oxford campus. The presidential debate will be held at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Mississippi on Friday, September 26, 2008.

The Inn has been visited by the Commission on Presidential Debates and the entire facility will be utilized. The new 6,000 square foot ballroom will be utilized by the media for the week of the debate.

The Inn at Ole Miss General Manager Robert Radice says the existing hotel is scheduled to be connected to the new tower by December 25.

An outdoor patio has been added to the plans for the snack bar area that will overlook Gertrude Ford Parkway and the Ford Center. As of now, all of the framing is complete in the new tower, the kitchen, the ballroom and the roof are complete. The brick work on the outside of the building is complete to the 5th floor, and dry wall is finished through the second floor. The concrete has been poured for the fire exit steps in the stairwell of the new tower.

Every suite in the new hotel tower has been sponsored, and five rooms remain in the original Inn. Rooms may be sponsored with a tax-deductible gift to the University of $55,000, which may be contributed over time, if needed. The campaign has garnered over $14.8 million in gifts and pledges, but $1.2 million is still needed to complete Phase I. Those not interested in room sponsorship still have other naming opportunities in the sponsorship of stained glass windows, chandeliers, benches or alumni bricks.

Individuals or organizations can learn more about donor naming opportunities and tax-deductible contributions to The Inn at Ole Miss by contacting Tim Walsh at 662-915-1878, tim@olemiss.edu or by visiting the Alumni Web site.

A live webcam allows alumni and friends to visit the Ole Miss Alumni Association Web site and view the current progress of The Inn construction.