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Donald Trump to hold rally in Fort Worth

Donald Trump is known to draw a crowd. And that's what the Fort Worth Convention Center is preparing for Friday, when Donald Trump plans to hold a noon rally inside the center's arena. 

FORT WORTH -- Donald Trump is known to draw a crowd.

And that's what the Fort Worth Convention Center is preparing for Friday, when Donald Trump plans to hold a noon rally inside the center's arena.

The campaign finalized the booking Tuesday night, one week ahead of the state's March 1 primary.

The convention center is now working closely with the Secret Service to make sure the event is safe for everyone who attends, said Kirk Slaughter, director of the Fort Worth Convention Center's Public Events Department.

He did not go into details of the security plan, saying the federal government is leading that effort.

The convention center is also working on a traffic control plan. Slaughter expects heavy traffic in the area before and after the event, with people expected to drive in from across DFW.

Slaughter noted that crews are in the process of renovating and reupholstering about 1,200 chairs in the arena, which will be out of service during the rally.

Still, the remaining chairs, coupled with temporary metal chairs that will be set up on the arena's floor, can accommodate about 10,000 people, said Slaughter.

The campaign is also looking into whether the rally should be held in another part of the convention center, like the exhibit hall area, in order to accommodate more people, added Slaughter.

Last time the center hosted a campaign rally was back in 2008, when President Barack Obama was seeking office.

The center also recently hosted a Republican convention.

Slaughter did not know how many people were expected to attend Trump's rally.

Tickets to the event are free, as they were when Trump held a rally at the American Airlines Center in Dallas last fall, which drew a crowd of about 15,000.

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