"You definitely feel a buzz down here:" Milwaukee hosts GOP debate, the world watches



MILWAUKEE -- Every moment of Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate will be watched, dissected and disseminated by news outlets from all around the world. They are all in Milwaukee.

World gets ready to watch GOP debate in Milwaukee



That is exciting for Brew City native Lamont Westmoreland. He beams at the idea of his city being front and center as the nation searches for the next president.

"You definitely feel a buzz down here," said Westmoreland. "This is huge for Milwaukee. I think that this is the beginning of spectacular growth that's getting ready to take place in the city."

Without a ticket to the big show, Westmoreland will have to watch at home.

UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena hosts world's media



Meanwhile, UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena acts as one giant newsroom for local, national and international reporters. The actual debate happens next door in the Milwaukee Theatre.

Fred Brown



"Everybody needs to see the debate too so that's why you see the screens set up all over. The jumbo tron has been brought down," said Fred Brown, spokesman for the Republican National Committee (RNC).

More than 500 members of the media applied for credentials. The RNC says the more access voters have to debate coverage, the better.

"It's the voters who need to see and that's why it's important to get everybody in, as many as you can," said Brown.