Second venue opened for Charlie Kirk memorial as colossal crowd of supporters flows though streets

Blaze News has confirmed that the overflow crowd from the Charlie Kirk memorial service is being directed toward a second arena due to the sheer numbers of supporters.

Tens of thousands of Kirk’s fans showed up as early as 4 a.m. to get in line at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the event, “Building a Legacy: Remembering Charlie Kirk,” is taking place.

‘We just want to be a small part of it.’

The crowd was initially thought to be more than 100,000. The NFL stadium typically holds a maximum of over 78,000 when including standing room. However, as a gargantuan crowd formed, estimates were tripled to approximately 300,000.

Blaze News’ team is live at the event and was able to confirm that the crowd was so large outside the stadium that the nearby Desert Diamond Arena is now packed to the brim with more of the memorial’s attendees.

RELATED: Charlie Kirk supporters offer prayers and praise as memorial kicks off

Video taken by Blaze News

About a five-minute walk from State Farm Stadium, the arena has a capacity of 19,000. It was formerly used by the Arizona Coyotes NHL team until 2022, when it was called the Gila River Arena.

Now, it is home to the professional bull-riding team the Arizona Ridge Riders and the indoor football team the Arizona Rattlers.

Outside the venue, attendees gave their thoughts and their memories of Kirk.

“He could listen to people, tell his side, listen to what they had to say, and, you know, he was OK with it,” one fan told Blaze News.

“And why somebody was taken for doing that kind of work, I have no idea. Just pure evil and sad,” the mourner added.

RELATED: Tens of thousands flock to Charlie Kirk memorial as massive crowd forms at dawn

Inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on September 21, 2025 during the Charlie Kirk memorial. Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

Another man told Blaze News as he waited outside, “it’s great to see the hearts and minds of America change the way they have been.”

“We just want to be a small part of it. Obviously we can’t get in today, but it was cool to at least experience this and witness it,” he added.

Jose Miguel Santiago, a spokesman for the police department in Glendale, told the New York Times that setting up security measures around the event was an “all hands on deck” operation that was Super Bowl-like in nature. In fact, the spokesman told the outlet the process was similar to how agencies prepared for Super Bowl LVII in 2023.

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