Charlie Kirk memorial service at State Farm Stadium cost Glendale nearly $500,000

The city of Glendale spent nearly half a million dollars related to the memorial service last month for conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The memorial drew thousands of mourners to State Farm Stadium, as well as Desert Diamond Arena, where overflow crowds were diverted when the stadium reached capacity.

Deputy City Manager Rick St. John assures the city will be reimbursed for its expenses by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, which owns State Farm Stadium, and ASM Global, a venue management company.

St. John says the money went towards several public safety elements.

“We charged fire personnel, ambulance costs, transportation personnel, barricade costs. And then, of course, police resources, personnel and anything else that we needed to include,” he said.

The bill will be covered by the authority and management company.

“Obviously, we have good partnerships with both AZSTA and ASM ... holding events at these venues is nothing new for any of us.”

St. John says a similar event planning was done when the Los Angeles Rams football team shifted their playoff game to the Cardinals stadium as a result of California wildfires.