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CHARLOTTE, NC -- When the Barack Obama formally accepts his party's nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night, he'll do it in front of a crowd decidedly smaller than planned.

The Democratic National Convention Committee has altered its original program planned for Bank of America Stadium on Thursday and moved it to inside Time Warner Cable Arena due to forecasts of severe weather in Charlotte.

President Barack Obama was scheduled to accept the Democratic nomination inside the outdoor stadium in front of tens of thousands of supporters, all of whom were granted community credentials for the event. The move inside Time Warner Cable Arena, the site of the first two days of the Democrats' 2012 convention, shuts out many of the 65,000-plus credentialed people who had hoped to participate in a piece of history.

"The energy and enthusiasm for our convention in Charlotte has been overwhelming and we share the disappointment of over 65,000 people who signed up for community credentials to be there with the president in person," said DNCC CEO Steve Kerrigan. "We encourage our community credential holders and Americans across the country to continue to come together with their friends and neighbors to watch and participate in history."

President Obama will offer an address to all community credential holders in a conference call planned for Thursday afternoon. All those credentialed to attend the original outdoor event will be invited to se the president between now and election day, according to the DNCC.