LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The convention will now move the activities to Charlotte's main business district, the convention's host committee announced.

Coordinators are grappling with a fundraising deficit of roughly $27 million, according to certain parties who requested anonymity. With a party ban on direct contributions from corporations, the host committee has raised less than $10 million, well short of its $36.6 million goal.

Logistics, not costs, were behind the decision to cancel the Speedway event, Murrey insists.

"In order to facilitate public caucus meetings -- and to maximize accessibility, transportation, and proximity of all guests -- we have decided that moving CarolinaFest 2012 to Uptown Charlotte is the best way to achieve that goal," Murrey said in a statement. Bloomberg reported that it may call off the Speedway festival altogether.

Steve Kerrigan, chief executive officer of the convention committee, said last January that Democrats were shortening their convention from four days to three "to make room for a day to organize and celebrate the Carolinas, Virginia and the South and kick off the convention at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Labor Day," on September 3.

Kerrigan also said that Obama would accept his party's nomination at the almost 74,000-seat Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers professional football team. The finale would call to mind Obama's convention speech at Invesco Field in Denver four years ago.

Security for the Speedway festival may not have been eligible because the event isn't part of the official convention proceedings.

Republicans will also receive a $50 million grant for their four-day convention in Tampa, Florida, August 27-30.

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