Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University will host the first presidential debate on Sept. 29.
The debate was initially set to occur at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., but the school withdrew July 27 due to the complexities COVID-19 created for its fall semester.
Cleveland Clinic will host the candidates at its Health Education Campus, which is a joint project between the clinic and Case Western Reserve University that opened in 2019 and includes a 477,000-square-foot pavilion.
The Commission on Presidential Debates retained Cleveland Clinic earlier this year as its Health Security Advisor to inform health protocols for all four fall debates. The hospital will establish risk-mitigation procedures for the event in the pavilion, including audience size, distance among seats and disinfectant measures.
It is not certain whether a live audience will be present for the debate. Cleveland Clinic has said that depends on the status of the pandemic as the event draws near.