We are so impressed with the spaces, amenities and quality of service the Visit Phoenix team offers to visiting groups. Read on to find out how Phoenix has everything your group needs for your next event.

What makes PHOENIX a great place for faith-based meetings?

Greater Phoenix is an experienced destination when it comes to hosting religious meetings and conferences of all sizes. From a youth gathering of 36,000 to an intimate board retreat for 12, Greater Phoenix has the perfect combination of air access, accommodations, venues, attractions and value to make it your best event yet.

Additionally, Visit Phoenix’s Religious Meetings sales team will lead your event toward success. And our award-winning Destination Services staff will help you arrange meeting essentials such as catering, audio-video equipment and wholesome entertainment.

Greater Phoenix is home to over 69,000 guest rooms at more than 500 hotels and resorts, with even more on the horizon. New additions to downtown include the eight-story Hyatt Place Phoenix Downtown, which features 238 rooms, seven suites and the 3,113 square foot Revival Ballroom, and the 13-story AC Hotel by Marriott Phoenix Downtown, which offers 199 rooms, 3,400 square feet of meeting space, two media salons and a board room.

What is unique and interesting about PHOENIX to visiting groups?

Located about 10 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, this city’s safe, walkable downtown core invites you to navigate seamlessly between nearly 20 hotels, approximately 200 restaurants, museums, theaters, art spaces, concert venues, professional sporting events and more.

CityScape, located in the heart of downtown, is a two-block concentration of retail, entertainment and dining options. The complex is home to more than a dozen restaurants, shopping retailers, two live- music venues, a comedy club, a bowling alley and a day spa.

Pro sports are almost always buzzing, as fans flock to Footprint Center — home of NBA’s Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and IFL’s Arizona Rattlers — and Chase Field, home of MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks.

Phoenix’s murals run up walls and through alleyways all around downtown, transforming stretches of brick and concrete into vibrant canvases with stories to share. Take in the art as you wander Roosevelt Row (RoRo), a nationally recognized arts district known for its galleries and boutiques.

Downtown is also home to the Phoenix Convention Center (PCC), the Phoenix Biomedical Campus and Arizona State University. And it’s all served by one of the ever-expanding Valley Metro Rail, a 28-mile line that transports visitors through downtown, to the airport and beyond, for $2 per ride.

What are some nearby cultural experiences that groups would enjoy?

Greater Phoenix offers a wide variety of family and group-friendly attractions that can accommodate your attendees year-round.

In close proximity to downtown, the Arizona Science Center and the Children’s Museum of Phoenix are both located a short walk from the PCC; the Heard Museum and Phoenix Art Museum are both located under 2 miles north of the PCC and are accessible via Valley Metro Rail; and the Phoenix Zoo, the Desert Botanical Garden and Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park are located 15 minutes east of the PCC.

The Musical Instrument Museum, Rated Phoenix’s #1 attraction by TripAdvisor, is about 20 minutes north of downtown. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is about 30 minutes northwest of downtown.

What are some new or upcoming enhancements to PHOENIX that event planners should know about?

Between October 2020 and February 2021, over 50 new dining options opened in the Phoenix area. That comes on the heels of more than 100 other new food and beverage businesses that previously opened during the pandemic.

Fans of Phoenix’s NBA and WNBA basketball teams were among the first to experience the results of a $230 million overhaul of their home court. The city-owned arena — which offers conference capacity of 15,000 — underwent aesthetic and infrastructure updates throughout and added a new pavilion with 7,000 square feet of LED video screens; new all-black seating and theater-style lighting; new sound, videoboards and scoreboard that’s six times larger (and six times better resolution); new 525-person clubs at center court (on both the east and west sides); and an ultra-exclusive 281-person social club.

In July 2021, the teams entered a naming rights partnership with Gilbert, Arizona-based Footprint, an engineering company that makes sustainable packaging, and the downtown arena has since been renamed Footprint Center.