Bernie Sanders is Too Big for Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Bernie Sanders portrait
By ANTHONY MACUK

A lot of Portlanders want to see Bernie Sanders this weekend. How many? Too many to fit in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The rally for the Vermont senator and surging Democratic presidential candidate is this Sunday, Aug. 9—and the campaign just announced a change of venues.

Sanders was originally scheduled to speak at the 12,888-seat Coliseum, but Sanders' campaign today announced it's progressing (get it? GET IT?) to the nearby Moda Center, which seats 19,980. (More or less.)

Sanders' website doesn't list the total number of people who have signed up, but a since-deleted tweet said 9,000 people RSVP'd for the Rose Quarter rally within the first 48 hours of its announcement.

The rally is scheduled to begin at 6 pm on Sunday. RSVP quickly. Portland doesn't have any bigger stadiums.

(UPDATE: Well, that joke was factually unstable. Providence Park can seat 22,000, but the Portland Thorns are playing at 6:30 pm. Sorry, Bernie.)

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