Visit Phoenix CEO on How Conventions Drive Downtown Development
Photo Credit: Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza and her Barrio Cafe represent the creative energy in downtown Phoenix. Visit Phoenix
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 Brot
