On Oct. 3 at the University of Denver, two candidates will square off to prove their leadership qualifications for the U.S. presidency.

Behind this seemingly straightforward scene, a cadre of local leaders, staff and students is attempting to prove DU’s leadership qualifications as a premier institution.

The organizational team at DU has been working late nights and spending months of marketing and fundraising for one goal: a flawless week under the magnifying glass of 3,000 members of the media who will act as a portal to the world.

“It is the Super Bowl of politics,” said Bob Fisher, president of Belmont University, a debate site in 2008.

Like the Super Bowl, the event is high-profile and expensive to host. Pulling off a seamless debate week is nothing short of a feat of organizational strength. As DU faces next week’s grand reality show, campus officials will soon find out whether all the effort was worth it.

Apart from the time and energy, there is the real-world price tag of at least $1.6 million. Experts say there are many hidden costs, likely making the event a financial wash in the short term.

Campus officials, marketing experts and presidents of former host institutions say the objective is to catapult the university onto a massive world stage while bearing a distinguished reputation.

“It’s a leadership strategy, so it’s perfect for their brand,” said Pocky Marranzino, chief executive and president at Karsh Hagan, an advertising agency in Denver. “It’s a great jewel to put in your crown.”

Belmont University and Hofstra University can already boast that jewel as each hosted a presidential debate in 2008. The presidents of both universities glowed about the experience when talking to The Post.

“It’s kind of impossible to measure,” Fisher said. “You could say it was hard, it took a lot of time, but it was worth it. It’s no question we’d do it again.”

Hofstra’s leadership enjoyed the experience so much that it placed a bid to host again in 2012 and won. The school will host the second presidential debate Oct. 16.

DU has a specific message that its officials hope to broadcast through the grand brush stroke of this event: DU is a great private university dedicated to the public good.

“It’s hard to come up with events on campus that receive national attention that are not sports-related,” said David Greenberg, DU’s vice chancellor for institutional partnerships. “This is substantive, academic, civic; I mean, it’s perfect.”

To reach the perfect results, the university must first weather the perfect storm.

“Great responsibility”

All debates since 1988 have been run by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation. Presidents from former host universities caution that DU should be prepared for last-minute demands and manhandling by the U.S. Secret Service in the final preparation days.

“It’s a great responsibility,” said Stuart Rabinowitz, president of Hofstra. “It may as a byproduct be showing off the university, but it is not a university event; it is a committee debate event.”

The commission assesses each site and presents a list of updates and accommodations that each university is responsible for producing. DU is advertising the cost of this event at a much lower number than predicted.

Rabinowitz estimates that his staff raised about $4.5 million to host in 2008.

“It attracts donors,” he said. “It didn’t make us a profit, but it didn’t cost us anything either.”

Fisher estimates that Belmont spent $3.5 million for the 2008 event but that the money produced tangible benefits.

“I don’t think I could’ve raised the money to just build a building otherwise,” Fisher said. “The neat thing is that the community paid for that.”

Greenberg said DU is approaching this debate as a fundraiser with long-term goals, such as facility upgrades, garnering more alumni support and continuing to attract high- caliber students.

“A lot of people may have heard of us but don’t know much about us,” said Kevin Carroll, DU’s vice president of marketing. “We are hoping for a full week of spotlighted attention.”

It’s more than just attention; it’s good PR. The marketing and advertising value that will be accrued from the media coverage holds enormous potential.

“In terms of regular PR that they work on all year, this will trump that hugely,” Marranzino said.

DU’s target goals are based on figures from previous host universities. The University of Mississippi conducted a post-debate analysis in 2008 that put the media value it received at about $20 million. Rabinowitz estimates that Hofstra received about $30 million in national advertising.

“And, it’s better because you don’t have to sell yourself. The national debate commission does it by highlighting you,” Rabinowitz said.

Capitalizing on the attention, DU has developed a comprehensive debate series, including influential opinion leaders and gatekeepers.

The university has also commissioned an extensive Colorado voter poll that will be made public this weekend.

Carroll and his team hope the poll attracts even more publicity as thousands of journalists will be in Denver, jostling to offer a snapshot of Colorado, which appears to be the most unpredictable swing state.

Because of the visibility of the debate, DU is expecting, and prepared for, a 15 percent increase in student applications for 2013.

Ultimately, campus leaders agree that the most visible and encouraging benefit comes from the students’ excitement, the high level of civic engagement and the overall campus buzz.

“We always recognized we were a leader,” Carroll said. “And this gave us a stage to show it.”

Kristen Leigh Painter: 303-954-1638, kpainter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kristenpainter