ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Republicans are counting on a glitch-free convention to help lift the party’s sagging morale and boost John McCain’s presidential prospects when they assemble in this picturesque city on the Mississippi River in six weeks.

Organizers began construction Monday at the Xcel Energy Center, home to the Minnesota Wild NHL hockey franchise, to host 4,600 delegates and alternates and thousands more guests and media Sept. 1-4. Dozens of construction workers began unscrewing seats and unloading equipment from trucks, making room for the stage where McCain will deliver his acceptance speech. The Republican Party will have exclusive access to the arena through the convention.The GOP sessions get under way just four days after Democrats conclude their own convention in Denver; never before have the two parties’ events been scheduled so late in the summer, and so close together.

McCain strategists believe the timing could work to their advantage, potentially blunting the post-Denver “bounce” Obama
should receive as a newly minted nominee. And even though Obama now leads McCain by double digits in most Minnesota polls, his strategists hope a successful convention could help the Arizona senator’s chances of winning the state.

Crews will be laying down six miles of telephone and Internet cable and installing 4,500 data and analog lines.
Close-to-the-action broadcast sets for television networks and tables for print journalists will take the place of 3,000 existing seats and another 475,000 square feet of media workspace occupy an adjacent building. Several suites will be turned into hospitality rooms for donors, convention sponsors and prominent Republicans.