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The Group Travel Leader Going on Faith Select Traveler

Gather in Glendale

Glendale, Arizona at a Glance

Location: Southwest Arizona

Access: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Major Meeting Spaces: State Farm Stadium, Glendale Civic Center, Renaissance Hotel and Spa

Hotel Rooms: 1,800

Off-Site Venues: West Wind Drive-In, Arrowhead Country Club

Contact Info: 

Visit Glendale

623-930-4500

visitglendale.com

Fertile soil and expansive landscape drew the first settlers to Glendale, Arizona, in 1884. Today the city — a suburb of Phoenix —is ripe with a rich cultural scene, prestigious higher education campuses and a booming arts community.

The city of 250,000 people is a contrast, where both an epic sports and entertainment district and hometown festivals thrive equally.

A 30-minute drive can take Glendale visitors to downtown Phoenix or the gates of Luke Air Force Base, home to the 944th Fighter Wing. But it’s in the streets of Arizona’s Glendale where the most memorable meetings have occurred.

“People always get us mixed up with any number of the Glendales throughout the country,” said Danielle Dutsch, administrator at Visit Glendale. “But we are the only Glendale in the nation to host three Super Bowls and two Final Fours.”

Along with approximately 40 miles of hiking trails open from sunrise to sunset each day, Glendale is home to the 60,000-square-foot State Farm Stadium. The iconic venue has hosted countless athletes and performing artists, including a sold-out Garth Brooks concert in 2019, since it first opened in 2006. But the stadium’s retractable roof and moveable playing field have made it one of the top venues in the country, and it will be the site of Super Bowl LVII in 2023 and the NCAA Final Four in 2024.

Meeting groups can book the stadium for gatherings of from 20 to 20,000 -plus guests, but Glendale is also home to the 40,000-square-foot Glendale Civic Center, which frequently hosts day conferences, meetings, trade shows, graduations and more throughout its multiple banquet rooms, annexes and covered outdoor spaces.

Major Meeting Hotels

Glendale boasts 15 hotels that offer a total of nearly 1,800 rooms for visitors meeting within the city’s limits. Meeting spaces at the hotels range from 185 to 160,000 square feet. One of the top hotels for meetings is the Renaissance Hotel and Spa, which features 100,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, 26 meeting rooms, 320 guest rooms and an overall meeting capacity of 2,700 guests. The new Aloft Hotel at Westgate opened to visitors at the end of 2019 and offers one meeting space for groups of up to 34 guests, with an additional breakout room available if needed.

Before and After

With more than 300 days of sunshine per year on average, there is plenty of opportunity for open-air exploration throughout Glendale. The West Wind Drive-In is the valley’s only permanent drive-in movie theater and is a great option for spending time beneath the bright night stars to catch a movie or a summer concert. Glendale is walkable, and most entertainment options are within walking distance, including the shops at Tanger Outlets, the stadium and the Gila River Arena, home to the NHL Arizona Coyotes. The city is an antique shopper’s dream, and the historic downtown area has been dubbed Arizona’s Antique Capital.

New Additions

The city of Glendale is constantly evolving, and visitors will be able to experience a beach party in Arizona once the Crystal Lagoons Island Resort opens in 2022. The resort will be in the lively Westgate Entertainment District and will include an 11-acre beach lagoon with options for scuba diving, windsurfing and soaring with a water jet pack. Crystal Lagoons will be an experiential retail amusement park, 4D theater and themed hotel with an “aero bar” overlooking the entire valley from 130 feet above the ground. The resort will also add 630 new hotel rooms to the city.

Special CVB Services

Visit Glendale likes working with groups and event planners to showcase the many facets and amazing finds of their remarkable city. They can recommend restaurants for off-site dinners or help book a group outing to favorite Glendale spots like Cerreta’s Chocolate Company, where a replica of the chocolate machine that appeared on “I Love Lucy” is on display. They assist in coordinating site tours and FAM trips and provide access to preferred vendors throughout the city. The team can also handle media outreach and digital billboard promotions and will provide maps and marketing collateral for all meeting attendees. All of the services are complimentary.