DENVER -- Denver authorities showed the media the makeshift holding cells they have set up in the event of mass arrests during the Democratic National Convention.

The cells are in an empty warehouse and were opened to reporters on Wednesday.

City officials call the site a "a temporary arrestee processing center." Suspects would be held there while waiting to be fingerprinted, issued a court date and released after posting bail.

City officials say they don't expect mass arrests, but have to be ready.

They have removed razor wire from the top of the fenced enclosures and added $40,000 worth of air conditioning.

The ACLU in Colorado has raised questions about whether people held in the cells will have adequate access to bathrooms, running water and phones.

Protest groups have dubbed the center "Gitmo on the Platte," referring to the military prison at Guantanamo Bay. The warehouse is near Denver's South Platte River.

Police say bathrooms, water, phones and even nurses will be available to all arrestees. It has 23 toilets and can hold up to 400 people. Each "cage" will also have 20 chairs in them.

"The cells will hold up to 20 people at a time," said a Denver sheriff spokesman.

"People will complain about this facility but it's much nicer than the Denver city jail," said defense attorney and radio personality Craig Silverman.

The warehouse is roomy and airy and cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate. It also has a place to post bond.

"Persons who have cash or credit card, they can make their own bond," the smokesman said.