Sonoran City News

Westgate City Center Glendale Arizona

Margaritaville has opened at the Westgate City Center in Glendale, AZ. As I mentioned in my earlier post Westgate City Center and the University of Phoenix Stadium will be the place to be during the next few weeks Super Bowl activities.

New Westgate City Center photos are posted. Tomorrow I will publish a list of the area restaurants and the scheduled activities leading up to the Super Bowl. The University of Phoenix Stadium parking lots are filled with tents for the NFL experience and many other pre-game activities.

SUPER football BOWL Game in Glendale Arizona

It is almost here. The Super Bowl will be held in Glendale, AZ February 3, 2008. Recently this site has been getting a lot of visitors viewing the photos of Westgate City Center and Zanjero. Both are the major shopping tourist venues near the University of Phoenix Stadium site (still the dumbest name possible for the stadium but I digress).

I will update the photos of Westgate City Center and of Zanjero this weekend. The ones I have now are about 9 months old and so much has changed since then. Many of the restaurants have opened including the Fox Sports Grill and Yard House. Hotels have finally opened including theRenaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa at Westgate City Center. It is within walking distance of the stadium and right next door to Jobing.com Arena (aka Glendale Arena).

Some other hotels near the stadium include theResidence Inn by Marriott Glendale and the Spring Hill Suites in Glendale. Both are located across the street at Zanjero where you can stop by the huge Cabela's and take a gander at the stuffed (albeit dead) animals.

If you are interested in specific information about the area and things to do, let me know and I will post. More coming soon.

Renting Your Property for The Super Football Bowl Game

Phoenix is hosting multiple sports events during the beginning of 2008. The FBR Open. The Fiesta Bowl and the Super Bowl are just some of the events happening in the area during January and February 2008. If you haven't been paying attention, the FBR Open is occurring the same week as the Super Bowl. This will present a challenge for those seeking hotel rooms but presents an opportunity for those with properties available to rent.

If you are one of the many Phoenix and Glendale area homeowners who has been struggling to find a tenant for your vacant property, you might well consider making it available for a short term rental. Many out-of-town visitors will be here for more then just a few days and would prefer to stay in a home rather then a hotel. There are many different ways of promoting your property as a vacation or weekly rental and you might be shocked at the going rates.

If you would like more information, email me.

Classic Carriages Collector Car Auction

Classic Carriages Collector Car Auction and Show - March 14-18 - Arizona Cardinals Stadium (University of Phoenix Stadium) Glendale, AZ.

Featuring over 700 cars and more than 100 custo and classic motorcycles. Events include a Celebrity Car Challenge, Sports and Exotic Car Gallery, Car Club Extravaganza, Motorsports Festival, Family Zone and more.

Auction preview, ticket information and event schedule available on the Classic Carriages website.

Arizona House Beautiful - The Desert Living Show

The Arizona's House Beautiful - The Desert Living Show will be March 2-4, 2007 at Cardinals Stadium (University of Phoenix Stadium). Discount coupons are available on their site.

This is the place to be center for every type of home improvement. The show features design rooms, exciting landscape displays along with hundreds of exhibits and top professionals available to answer questions and provide direct assistance to those seeking outside help to complete home projects.  Viewed as one of the most prestigious shows in the industry. This show is new to the Phoenix market.

Arizona Travel Show - Cardinals Stadium

The Arizona Travel Show - February 24-25, 2007 - Arizona Cardinals Stadium (University of Phoenix) - Glendale, AZ

The Arizona Travel Show features information on local, national and international travel organizations, cruise lines, tour operators, resorts and tourism boards and more. There will also be travel prizes, speakers and live entertainment.

Schedule, event and ticket information available on the website.

Arizona Sting Lacrosse

Today in the rain I found myself stuck at the intersection of 35th Ave. and Broadway. There is a lot of construction on 35th Ave. and the combination of a holiday and rain made for very slow driving. I was surprised to discover Manzanita Speedway. OK, maybe discover is not the correct word as I am not channeling Christopher Columbus today but I noticed Manzanita Speedway for the first time. It struck me as odd because I have driven this road before and I have certainly heard of Manzanita prior to today. Anyway, there it was and I was surprised.

Why am I sharing this? Seeing Manzanita made me think of the other fun things we overlook. A few days ago I had a somewhat heated conversation about Arizona having a professional lacrosse team. The person I was conversing with insisted I was nuts and there was no professional lacrosse team in Arizona. I might very well be nuts but I am positive there is a lacrosse team in Arizona. The Arizona Sting. I even had the pleasure of attending their first game which happened to also be the first event ever at the Glendale Arena.

I lived for a few years in Maryland and lacrosse is huge there. Not so much in Arizona. I'm unsure why the Arizona Sting does not do more marketing. If I had not been to their first game, I would hardly know they exist. The music during that game was extremely loud. So loud that my hearing impaired husband complained. Hopefully they have worked out that bug in the years since.

If you have never been to a lacrosse game you should go. It is a lot of fun and fairly inexpensive when compared to the other professional sports in the Valley of the Sun.

Westgate City Center and Zanjero

The past few weekends I've made a point of visiting Westgate City Center and Zanjero in Glendale. When the Glendale Arena was first announced, the development area was a working farm that I frequently purchased fresh produce from. We've come a long way since then.

A small rant...The Ellman Companies had originally promised retail and dining to be ready by the time the arena opened. This obviously did not happen. Today well more then half of the anticipated merchants still have not opened.

OK, on to the good stuff. Yard House is open. They open daily at 4:00 pm which seems really late on the weekends. There was a long line at the door waiting to get in. The manager said they are considering opening for lunch starting in March. Moe's is open as is Sweet O. For a full list visit the Westgate City Center website.

New photos posted here. Older photos here.

Zanjero, located on the northwest corner of 91st Ave. and Glendale is moving right along. Since Cabella's opened last fall, it is the center of activity. Cracker Barrel recently opened in front of Cabella's. I haven't been there but the parking lot always looks packed. The apartments and condos are really coming along. Recent photos can be seen here. I've seen the development plans for the shopping area and it looks as though we can plan on seeing high end retailers and restaurants. Quite a difference from the farm that once was.

Westgate City Center - Glendale, AZ

New photos of the Westgate City Center in Glendale, AZ. It has been a few weeks since hosting the Tostito's Fiesta Bowl and the BCS Championship. There are many major events to come with the 2008 Super Bowl being the highlight.

Go West, Sports Fan!

Last week the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ (I really dislike the name) hosted its' first Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The event was a success and featured one of the most exciting games in the history of college football.

This weekend Glendale starts the festivities for Monday's BCS National Championship game. Both events provide an opportunity for Glendale and surrounding West Valley communities to prepare for the 2008 Super Bowl also being played at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

All of this bodes well not only for Glendale, AZ but for the entire West Valley. Westgate City Center, just north of the stadium has recently opened a number of venues with many more to come. Yardhouse, Moe's, and Gordon Biersch are all open in time for the BCS games.

Over the next few months, more restaurants and hotels will open in anticipation of the many events occurring in the area.