Visit Phoenix CEO on How Conventions Drive Downtown Development
Skift Take
Expanding the convention center and building hotels and light rail transportation were the catalyst for the rebirth of downtown Phoenix. Although, getting Millennials to move into the core was just as important to breathe life into the neighborhoods.
Downtown Phoenix illustrates how the convention industry can drive the successful redevelopment of an entire urban core in a major city.
In 2002, the Arizona State Legislature approved funds to expand the Phoenix Convention Center in an effort to spark economic development following 9/11. The $600 million project almost tripled the size of the facility to 868,000 square feet of rentable space, making it one of the 20 largest convention centers in the U.S when it opened in January 2009.
The cities of Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa and various statewide business groups then lobbied for state funds for the construction of a 20-mile light rail system, connecting the convention center and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The city also developed the 1,000-room Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, which, after losing money during the recession, no longer requires municipal subsidies and could be sold to private investors in the short term.
The Sheraton opened two weeks after Lehman Brothers crashed in September 2008. The Metro Light Rail launched a month before the newly expanded convention center, just as the meetings industry was beginning to encounter the steep drop in bookings due to the global recession.
Convention business has increased steadily coming out of the downturn. For 2015, the Visit Phoenix convention sales staff booked 65 meetings and conventions with an estimated attendance of 248,000 delegates. That’s up from 57 events and 203,000 attendees in 2014. Those totals do not include events sold by the convention center sales staff or third parties.
More importantly, downtown Phoenix is now a thriving area that continues to expand with a creative mix of commercial, academic and residential development. A decade ago, downtown Phoenix was dormant. This year, Phoenix ranked 11th on Forbes’ list of fastest-growing cities in America, and it's projected to be the fourth largest U.S. city by 2020.
According to Steve Moore, president and CEO of Visit Phoenix, the biggest reason behind the success of downtown is the collaboration between private and public entities in the city. Most notably, the development of Downtown Phoenix, Inc. in 2013 helped coordinate the efforts of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, Phoenix Community Alliance and Downtown Phoenix Community Development Corporation.
We spoke with Moore to dive into the collaboration between city management and business tourism development that has redefined the convention i
