Night Shooting w/o Tripod?

John McCain is coming in to AVP tonight, and I'm going to go to get the 'Straight Talk Express'.

Down at the airport, they have a load of HUGE spotlights set up to shine on the 737. My question is, will I need a tripod or will these lights be bright enough so that I won't need one?

I'd recommend a tripod.

You may be able to get away with a high ISO shot (1600) but it will be noisy.

Low apature and high ISO.
But using a tripod is your best bet.