A view of the UMass-Boston media center where hundreds of journalists will converge tomorrow night to cover the first debate between presidential contenders Al Gore and George W. Bush. (Boston.com Photo / Chris Szechenyi) As debate nears, UMass-Boston gets ready for the national spotlight By Christopher A. Szechenyi, Boston.com Staff, 00/02/00 BOSTON - You'll never see them sweat. When Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush face off tomorrow night at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, the temperature above their heads will never rise above 65 degrees.  DEBATE SPECIFICS Where University of Massachusetts, Boston campus. When 9-10:30 p.m. EDT. Moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS. Coverage CNN, PBS, ABC, CBS, Fox News Channel, MSNBC. Fox network will not air debate. NBC will allow affiliates to choose between Major League Baseball playoffs and the debate. Format Traditional, lectern-style arrangement. No opening statements. Question by moderator to one candidate, who will have 2 minutes. The other candidate will then have 1 minute rebuttal time. Moderator may extend discussion of any subject or move to a new question. There will be 2 minute closing statements by each candidate. There will be no commercials or other breaks.  COVERAGE ADVISORY Boston.com will carry live streaming video of the debate tomorrow evening, courtesy New England Cable News.  UMASS MAP Map of UMass Boston     Forget the hot lights, the cameras, the attention of the nation and any attendant anxiety. If the workers scurrying around the debate stage being built in a transformed basketball arena have their way, the presidential candidates will never perspire. UMass-Boston officials have hired contractors to bring in additional air conditioning units to meet just one of the requirements set by the candidates and the Commission on Presidential Debates. They're even prepared to cool down the walls if need be. "They have to get the temperature down," said David MacKenzie, vice chancellor for administration and finance at UMass-Boston as he stood in the already well-chilled room. The Commission has dictated every detail of the political theater rising on the campus, from the red velveteen rugs on the floor of the Clark Athletic Center to the number of tickets available for students to watch the historic event. School Chancellor Sherry Penney told Boston.com this morning that she still does not know how many tickets will be distributed through a lottery to students. More than 1,000 students have submitted their names for tickets. "We hope there will be some for the University," Penney said, noting the commission usually gives two-thirds of the tickets to the two major parties and one third to the host institution. For the past year, UMass officials have been preparing for tomorrow night's big event. They've even put new pavement on several areas of the campus, which was built on a landfill, to prevent heavy trucks and equipment from sinking. "It's very exciting, very exciting," Penney said, as satellite trucks arrived from the major networks and began unrolling their cables. "We're thrilled the debate is here on our campus," University President William Bulger said as he toured the debate hall. "It's a real boost." More than 800 feet of red, white and blue bunting now lines the walls of the athletic center and the nearby hockey rink where media from all over the world will cover the debate. The campus buzzed with activity this morning as dozens of journalists streamed into a small white tent to get their press credentials. More then 1,655 journalists from 324 media outlets plan to cover the event for audiences in Russia, Japan, Norway, Sweden and other nations Even MTV is expected to be there. Dozens of 27-inch color TVs have been set up, along with telephones and high-speed Internet connections on 600 tables in the media center. And two dozen bathroom-sized interview booths line one wall of the facility. After the debate, political pundits will slip inside the booths to offer their evaluations of the candidates' performances. (The big networks have set up their cameras inside the debate hall so their anchorman and women can be seen with the stage behind them.) The university has spent more than $2 million preparing for the face-off, including nearly $1 million in private donations and $900,000 from the state. Among the expenses: backup electrical generators brought in to prevent any disruption of the debate. "They can be switched on in nanoseconds," MacKenzie said.