Phoenix convention center posts record attendance, staff moves to issue RFP for downtown hotel site

Phoenix — City convention center officials told the Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee on Wednesday that 2024 was a record year for the Phoenix Convention Center and that the city will seek private proposals to develop a full-service hotel and mixed-use project on a city-owned garage site near the convention center.

Sarah Field, deputy director of the Phoenix Convention Center, said the center hosted 62 conventions in 2024 and a record 315,000 attendees, producing what staff estimated as significant economic impact. "The Phoenix Convention Center had a very successful 2024," Field said. She added the center is on pace with pre-pandemic booking levels and that it already has conventions contracted through 2035.

Officials highlighted a slate of upcoming, larger events that staff said strengthen Phoenix's convention-market position. Field identified Semicon West — moving to Phoenix after decades in San Francisco — as an example and said the event could bring about 6,500 delegates with a direct spend near $10 million. Ron Price, president and CEO of Visit Phoenix, and Lauren Edwards, Visit Phoenix chief sales officer, also presented meeting-planner sentiment research showing Phoenix ranks highly on safety and convention-center quality but lower on the number of convention-quality hotel rooms.

That shortfall in nearby hotel inventory led staff to present a separate request: authorize an RFP for the Regency Garage site, at the southwest corner of Second Street and Adams, for an urban mixed-use infill project with a minimum of about 400 guest rooms. Eric Prochnet (special projects) told the subcommittee the one-acre site includes a 506-space garage and about 22,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space currently leased month-to-month; the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center occupies the ground-floor lease.

"The desired project we'd be looking for from proposers would be an urban mixed use infill project that could provide a full service hotel with a minimum of approximately 400 guest rooms," staff said. Gretchen Wolf, the city's special-projects administrator, said minimum qualifications in the RFP will include demonstrated experience with mid- to high-rise development and a requirement that the city dispose of the property at or preferably above appraised value.

Staff outlined a multi-step, community-engaged timeline if the subcommittee and council authorize the RFP: issue the RFP in spring 2025 (60'90 days open), evaluate proposals with a community panel, hold public meetings and return to council with recommended business terms in fall 2026. Director Christine Mackey emphasized the city would work with current garage tenants and arts organizations to mitigate impacts during redevelopment.

Public comment came from Margaret Schultz of Worker Power, who urged the city to lease rather than sell the property to retain long-term control and ensure community benefits. "Leasing would allow the city to have long term input over the project and make sure that it is something continuously benefiting the community," Schultz said. City staff replied that the city typically retains property control until a developer secures required permits and pays for improvements, and that the city would protect taxpayers by not transferring the asset until significant development milestones are met.

The subcommittee then voted to recommend that the full City Council authorize issuance of the RFP; the motion passed unanimously. The transcript records the motion as passed unanimously but did not include a roll-call tally in the subcommittee record.

Why it matters: staff argued that a convention-quality headquarter hotel adjacent to the Phoenix Convention Center would increase the city's ability to compete for larger conventions, reduce the number of hotel properties meeting planners must block for a single event, and increase economic impact from tourism and meetings. Staff briefed consultants' findings that Phoenix has roughly 4,500 hotel rooms within a half-mile of the center versus 7,500',500 in many peer cities, and that securing large room blocks currently requires contracting with many more hotels than in competing destinations.

Next steps: the subcommittee's recommendation goes to full council on March 5; if council approves, staff plan an RFP issuance in spring 2025 and community engagement, with a request back to council on business terms expected in fall 2026.