The city has not made an official announcement, but City Administrator George Kolb said Monday morning that Mr. Daly has been booked to visit Augusta for the celebration. He will introduce entertainment acts at the daylong grand opening.

In return, organizers are arranging for Mr. Daly to play golf at Augusta National Golf Club. Before his career at the Music Television Network, Mr. Daly attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for one year on a golf scholarship.

Mr. Kolb is planning a Wednesday news conference, where he will officially announce Mr. Daly's appearance.

"Everybody else thinks that's just great, but I've never heard of Carson Daly before," Mr. Kolb said. "He appears to be quite a popular guy, and I'm looking forward to meeting him."

At the same news conference, the name of a headlining musical act is expected to be made public. Organizers declined to reveal who the performer or performers could be, but according to Peggy Seigler, assistant to the administrator, "On a scale of one to 10, they're supposed to be a 10."

Organizers have been working for months planning the downtown event. The organizing committee consists of several city officials, radio station representatives, a downtown development officer, a local promoter and employees from the mayor's office, Richmond County Sheriff's Office and Riverwalk Augusta.

Mr. Daly is the host of Total Request Live, which airs Monday through Friday under the acronym TRL. On the show, he counts down the top 10 music videos of the day and interviews a variety of entertainers.

Reach Heidi Coryell Williams at (706) 823-3215 or heidi.williams@augustachronicle.com.