Obama team hopes rain stays away, but crowds come

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -  On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, an Obama campaign official is telling delegates that the campaign hopes the rain will stay away when Obama delivers his acceptance speech Thursday night in a 74,000-seat outdoor stadium.

Obama deputy campaign manager Jennifer O'Malley-Dillon told Iowa delegates, "If you believe in weather gods, you should pray to them."

Democrats are hoping to pack the stadium for the prime-time speech -- but they'll need more than just the 6,000 delegates and the thousands of others attached to the convention.

About 200 students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are taking buses to the stadium Thursday night. Another 100 are expected on buses from Duke University.

The head of the South Carolina chapter of the NAACP says several large black churches in his state are planning to send busloads of members to watch Obama speak. He says, "There are plenty of people who wouldn't miss it for the world."

Obama aides say several thousand tickets have been given to new campaign volunteers in North Carolina.