The controversy over the University of South Carolina's plan to bring a luxury hotel to campus took another turn Monday with Gov. Mark Sanford jumping into the fray.

Sanford, who was expected to speak out against the hotel at a news conference Monday morning, will instead meet with USC officials and representatives of the hotel industry today.

"Some university officials indicated a desire to discuss the issue with the governor and he certainly wanted to give them the opportunity to do that," said Sanford spokesman Will Folks.

The planned Pendleton Street hotel is supposed to serve visiting prosecutors studying at the adjacent National Advocacy Center and serve as a showpiece for select visitors to the university.

But the idea drew fire from local hotel operators, who fear USC would unfairly take a large slice of the downtown hotel business.

The city of Columbia's planning commission heard a presentation of the hotel idea Monday night, which includes a larger land-use agreement between USC and residents of the University neighborhood. The session was informational, and the commission didn't vote on the plan.

Sanford's reasons for getting involved in the hotel flap aren't clear yet, but are not without precedent.

While a U.S. representative, Sanford was the sole sponsor of 1999's "Private Enterprise Protection Act," which would've prevented the government from issuing bonds for projects that would compete with the private sector, including hotels.

Tom Sponseller, president of the S.C. Hospitality Association, said hotel operators are open to suggestions for ending their impasse with USC.

"We're there to listen and we'll be very interested to hear what he (Sanford) has to say," he said.

Shirley Mills, a USC lobbyist who's been involved with the hotel negotiations, said Sanford's involvement is a welcome development.

"We want everybody to understand the details of our plans, and apparently he didn't," she said. "We hope he gets excited about what we're trying to do."