Obama inauguration expected to draw 1 mn-plus

The National Park Service, which is planning for an inaugural crowd of at least 1 million, will clear more viewing space along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route. Jumbo TV screens will line the National Mall so people can watch the inauguration and parade, park service spokesman David Barna said Thursday.

Washington D.C.8217;s delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton, is urging planners to use arenas and stadiums to help with overflow crowds wanting to view the ceremonies on big-screen TVs. She is also urging churches to hold viewing parties.

The city8217;s police chief, Cathy Lanier, said organizers brought in an additional 3,000 officers from forces around the country to help with the last inauguration. This time, the request probably will be for about 4,000 officers.

Because of a lawsuit, people should have more standing room along the crowded parade route. War protesters sued after President George W. Bush8217;s last inauguration, forcing the government to open up more free public viewing space between the Capitol and White House.

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled in March that the park service violated its own rules by giving preferential treatment in ticketing for bleacher seats along the parade route for supporters of the government over its critics. Friedman wrote the inauguration 8220;is not a private event.8221;

New rules to be issued Monday will lower the number of ticketed bleacher seats along the parade route from 20,000 seats to 8,700, leaving much more of the route open to people without tickets, Barna said.

Seat tickets had sold for between 15 and 150 in 2005 to help pay for the inaugural parade. Details for the 2009 parade tickets have not been set because Obama8217;s Presidential Inaugural Committee, which organizes the parade, is being formed.

There will also be designated 8220;free speech8221; areas for protesters along the parade route, Barna said.

The inauguration has been designated a National Special Security Event, giving the U.S. Secret Service the lead in coordinating all law enforcement agencies to secure the event. There are 58 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies working together.

The largest crowd ever recorded on the National Mall was for President Lyndon B. Johnson8217;s 1965 inauguration. At the time, the park service estimated 1.2 million people descended on the area. In 1981, President Ronald Ronald Reagan8217;s inauguration drew about 500,000 people, and President Bill Clinton8217;s 1993 inauguration drew about 800,000 people, according to park service estimates.

Congressional offices are reporting tens of thousands of requests from their constitutents for the 240,000 tickets for the inauguration ceremony. As of Thursday, the office of Sen. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat, had received 26,000 requests. Webb sent a letter Thursday to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who heads the Joint Congressional Inaugural Committee, requesting that Virginia8217;s proximity to Washington be considered in its allotment of tickets.

EBay Inc., the parent company of listing and sales sites eBay, StubHub and Kijiji, said it will not allow tickets to the inauguration to be sold on its Web sites. The company made the decision after meeting with committee representatives, eBay spokeswoman Nichola Sharpe told The Associated Press.

Feinstein wants to prevent ticket sales. Tickets are supposed to be distributed for free through congressional offices.

The inauguration will come at the end of a four-day holiday for federal workers, following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 19. Many area schools and some universities have cancelled classes or are considering it.