Donald Trump

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in Bethpage, N.Y. Trump plans to host a large rally in Syracuse on Saturday, April 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

(Julie Jacobson)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump will host a campaign rally in Syracuse on April 16, only days before the New York presidential primary, his campaign co-chair said Thursday night.

The time and exact location of the Syracuse rally have not been determined, said Carl Paladino, the Buffalo real estate developer who serves as honorary co-chair of Trump's New York campaign.

"It's in the works," Paladino told syracuse.com in an interview. "His date for Syracuse is a week from Saturday, and we're expecting a large event."

Trump will follow his Syracuse appearance with a rally the next day, April 17, at Buffalo's First Niagara Center, a 19,000-seat arena that's home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League, Paladino said.

The only location in Syracuse that would be able to host as many people is the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University, a 49,000 seat stadium that SU has not made available for political rallies in the past.

The Onondaga County War Memorial, which seats about 7,000 people and has more space on the arena's floor, is one other facility that could host a large Trump rally in Syracuse.

Record crowds in the thousands have turned out this year across the nation to see Trump speak at rallies in arenas and other large venues.

Trump plans to begin his Upstate New York campaign with a rally Sunday in Rochester, followed by an appearance Monday at the Times Union Center in Albany,which can hold about 17,000 people.

The New York presidential primary April 19 is expected to be pivotal as both Trump and Hillary Clinton battle on their home turf for some of the biggest delegate prizes of their respective party primaries.

New York has the second-highest number of Democratic delegates in the nation, and the fourth-highest total of Republican delegates up for grabs before the party conventions this summer.

Trump will be welcomed to Syracuse by two of his New York campaign co-chairs, Onondaga County Republican Party Chair Tom Dadey and Onondaga County Clerk Lisa Dell.

Most of the Syracuse area's elected officials who hold state and federal office have remained neutral in the Republican primary, or declined to endorse Trump.

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