Bernie Sanders Event Moved to Convention Center

**Update 7/16/15: Sanders' will be speaking in a room designed to fit 10,000 people, but that has the possibility of moving walls so as to fit 12,000. "We've received a tremendous response," Michael Briggs of Sanders' media team tells New Times. Briggs declined to say how many RSVPs they've received, but confirmed it's in "the thousands."

Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders just announced that his campaign event scheduled for this Saturday in Phoenix will now be held at the downtown Convention Center. This marks the second time the campaign has decided to switch locations in order to accommodate the flood of RSVPs.

It's unclear exactly how many people have registered for the event, but the campaign is clearly anticipating a huge turnout.

Sanders will be speaking in a 123,500-square-foot room in the North Building, which members of his media team confirm can hold 10,000 people, or be expanded to fit 12,000. This move is being celebrated as a victory by his supporters on social media — people have been posting Facebook comments or tweets all day wondering if Sanders can get a bigger turnout than Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump received last weekend at his rally. 

The Trump event took place in the 45,600-square-foot North Building Ballroom, which can hold a maximum of 4,200 people, and it's unclear how many of his supporters were unable to get inside.

Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist, had little national name recognition or support a few months ago, but recent polls show that he's captured at least 30 percent of the Democratic vote. (Hillary Clinton, who has almost 100 percent name recognition, is still in the lead for the party's convention vote, but Sanders is clearly gaining momentum.)

He is the most left-leaning of all the presidential candidates in the race and has called for the Democratic Party to return to its populist roots. Much of Sanders' current political platform concerns reducing income inequality, getting big money out of politics, addressing climate change, and making education more affordable. And according to his campaign website, he will address all four issues this weekend.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Sanders is a socialist-Democrat. He is a Democratic Socialist.

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