How Phoenix Is Going Big on Sports Meetings and More!

Visit Phoenix is spiking the ball in the end zone via the launching of its Phoenix Sports and Events Commission, hoping to build on its success hosting marquee sports events such as Super Bowls and Final Fours.

We tapped Lorne Edwards, chief sales officer, and Jane Vukovich, director of destination services, to discover how this new division will also focus on cultural, music and other big events.

Plus, Jane Vukovich shares how the DMO can provide soup-to-nuts service to meeting planners bringing any type of event to the Valley of the Sun.

[Related: Phoenix Launches Sports Commission and Enjoys a Biomed Surge]

Listen now:
 

This podcast was produced in partnership with Visit Phoenix.

Transcript:

Editors note: The following transcription was facilitated by AI program Otter.ai and proofed by our editors. Although it is very accurate, there inevitably will be some mistakes, so please consider that when reading. Thank you.

Tyler Davidson  

Hello, and welcome to this Meetings Today Podcast. I'm Tyler Davidson, Vice President and Chief Content Director for Meetings Today. And today we're joined by a couple folks from Visit Phoenix to share what's new in that destination, some of the initiatives they have and some of the big news that's going on. 

We have Lorne Edwards, Chief Sales Officer for Visit Phoenix. And then Jane Vukovich, Director of Destination Services. 
Thanks for joining us, Lorne and Jane.

Lorne Edwards 

Good to be here. Tyler.

Tyler Davidson  

Let's start off with Lorne. Now, you guys just announced the official establishment of the Visit Phoenix Sports and Events Division. Why don't you tell listeners what that's about and what the strategy is behind that, and maybe why they should be looking at the Phoenix area as a great sports meeting destination?

Lorne Edwards 

Oh, thanks. Happy to. Several years ago, the City of Phoenix started working with Bloomberg Philanthropies to really begin identifying opportunities and strategies to diversify Phoenix's portfolio of variety of events. So, really, out of that research, and really taking a deep-dive look at our infrastructure here, our events, hosting infrastructure, and of course, all of the big events that we’re hosting, whether it's Super Bowls or the Final Fours and all of that, it really came down to really understanding how we need a proactive entity that goes after not only just sports, but also cultural events, music events that celebrate, really, the richness of the community, and while at the same time creating an economic opportunity to elevate and create a narrative around the destinations, event hosting attributes beyond just the world of sports. 

So, on June 26, the Phoenix City Council unanimously approved the formation of the Phoenix Sports and Events Commission.

Tyler Davidson  

So, tell us a little more about that, for that segment, They'll have a good point of contact, and what are you building up around that now that you're out the gate with that?

Lorne Edwards 

The future Events Sports Commission will be led by an executive director, and we're in the process of building out that framework and getting someone on-boarded over the next six months, and that person will oversee a small team and there will be an advisory board. 

So, that leadership team’s main focus will be to set targets and goals and proactively build relationships with a host of event organizers that run everything from sports, amateur sports, collegiate sports, arts, festivals, you name it. 

We want to make sure that that commission is focused proactively on establishing the great relationships across the board, across that ecosystem of events, to get those events here that are meaningful to our communities. 

So, lots of excitement about that. There will be an executive director named inside of the next six months who will then build out a small team of folks that are well established and going out and generating these relationships proactively with a whole slew of various event organizers. So, this commission will certainly be an increment to the great work that the team already does here, and generating events year-round events that meet at the Phoenix Convention Center and a variety of other venues around the city.

Tyler Davidson  

Yeah, it really points to Visit Phoenix just really being so active in the last few years. I mean, you're really making inroads in the pharma/medical meeting segment with your 32-acre campus. You have ASU, actually, downtown, right?

Lorne Edwards 

Well, you know, Phoenix Biosciences Core, which is what it's called, it's really the hub of all things, you know? Research and health sciences and new innovations are being researched and tested right there, right downtown. Within that campus, there's a whole slew of collaborations taking place, with your University of Arizona, ASU. NAU [Northern Arizona University] resides on that campus, as well, as you just announced it will be starting its medical school. And that announcement was like, six or so months ago. 

And the key to all of this is that the campus really borders the Phoenix Convention Center. So, when we look at the convention center being alongside the biosciences core, when you think about how extensive this campus of learning in higher education is, what that means to various societies that are seeking unique venues in a city environment that is safe and clean and walkable to over 4,000 hotel rooms, it really lends itself well to really just creating a confluence of great ideas and exchanges and business activations all within downtown Phoenix. So, the PBC, Phoenix Bioscience Core, alongside the convention center, collaboration with the universities, in research in academia, or across the health science ecosystem has been a big windfall and continues to be with different phases of build out students soon yet to come.

Tyler Davidson  

Well, wow—lots happening, you guys have been up to a lot. And of course, Jane, it's your responsibility to service all this and make sure it functions and in a great manner as the director of destination services. Why don't you tell us about how your community gets ready for hosting these big conventions and why you guys are so good at it. I mean, you just did the WNBA All Star game, you've done the Super Bowl. So, obviously, you're doing something right if all these big events keep coming back?

Jane Vuckovich

Yeah, well, we are blessed to have a very collaborative downtown core of businesses, as well as our city partners, that all work together and understand the importance of these groups that are coming in and how we can best show Phoenix to all of these visitors that we're capturing in our destination. 

So, as you said, since we have had quite a bit of experience with Final Fours and all of that, we have a really good crew of our emergency response team that all works together and I think is a pretty unique way from what I've heard from other destinations, when we have a major event like that we put all of those all of those entities in one hub. 

So, everyone is together in one command center so when something happens, gosh forbid anything bad, everyone is in the room together, figuring out the solutions and reacting. So, it's great working—and I'm sure you understand sometimes working between different entities can be difficult, but we've really found a way to work together. And that's also pulling in all of our people from our surrounding cities that help in these mega events. 

So, it's a great collaborative effort. We're really good at—we have a monthly meeting with our downtown stakeholders where we review every convention that's coming in, we review all of the events happening in the city, anything that's of interest in community. What are they facing? What are our downtown partners feeling? And how can our police members join us, our community outreach people, so we're there to discuss all of those items. 

So, that really binds us all together on a monthly basis, whether there's a mega event in our city or not. And that prepares us for every convention that comes through the convention center and keeps us as a tight unit.

Tyler Davidson  

Wow. So, it really sounds like you guys have a great effort there. When you’ve got, of course, a big meeting coming through, or even any one of the myriad smaller meetings you have coming through, what are you guys talking about these days post-pandemic?

Jane Vuckovich

Well, obviously, the first thing that was an issue was how do we build back attendance? How do we get everyone to come back to the events, and we've seen an amazing recovery. So, I think people were yearning to get out of their houses and get back.

So, post-pandemic, it was about building that attendance but also building up our business community back to staffing levels, back to having the resources that they need. So, those were all part of the discussion. 

Now, we're happy that we're able to contract these groups about 18 to 24 months in advance, have conversations for them. What do they need for their meeting? What are they looking for? And then as you talked about our biomedical campus and our tech industry that we have here, how can we connect them with the correct people in our community, the thought leaders that we have? How can our biomedical campus enhance that medical meeting? Can they get a speaker? 

So, those are all the types of things we're trying to integrate; whatever we have that lends to making that meeting a success. That's really what my team focuses on. We also use a convention profile that we put out for every group that comes into downtown. That explains how many people, when, where what type of group is this? What are their hot buttons? When are they going to be available to go to have a glass of wine and get something to eat, so our restaurants are prepared? 

We never want them to be surprised that there's a group in town and they're not ready. So, we try really hard to make sure that everyone is aware of what's happening and keep them up to date. And, I know, our mayor is fantastic; Mayor Kate Gago, she's very involved and she loves to go and meet these groups and speak at the meetings if it's a good fit. And I just think that it's a really good mix that we have here working together, right?

Tyler Davidson  

Anything else a planner should know about Phoenix coming up?

Jane Vuckovich

Well, it's a little warm in the summer, just a little.

Tyler Davidson  

I've heard that. But everywhere right now, though. So, you guys have got that going for you…

Jane Vuckovich

You know what? We have some great heat-mitigation programs in the city. And you know, we're not the only hot destination. But the majority of the year, we are the perfect weather destination for you. 

So, we have an amazing team here. We have a great clean, walkable city; everything that you need for your meeting is within a few blocks of the convention center and the hotels. The hotels are directly across the street or one block from the center. 

So, it's a very compact footprint, as we call it. And it's very attractive for groups. You don't have to take cabs or Ubers everywhere. You can just walk right out and in one block you're at the convention center. So, I think that's one of our biggest selling points. 

And as we talk about clean and safe, we really do have a core, we have a downtown green team that works to keep the streets in good shape. We have shade trees throughout the walking paths, we really have been thoughtful about how do we make our destination really attractive.

Tyler Davidson  

And for sure, like what you were talking about sports events. I mean, you are in business when a lot of destinations are just too cold, too. So, you definitely have that going for you.

Lorne Edwards

We're a year-round destination. You know, there was a time when you had the hotels and resorts offering crazy low rates [in the summer]. I can tell you that that is long gone—the demand that we're seeing across the market year-round. Especially, not only downtown, but in our resort community. 

And let's not forget, we have an enviable collection of fantastic, secure world-class resorts that we also are stewards of. And they're all renovating and all renewing their facilities. They have amazing offerings, whether it's around wellness, around culinary. 

It really is offering a whole new level of approachable luxury when you think of hotels that have recently, opened like the Global Ambassador of the Caesars Republic. There’s Grand Hyatt Scottsdale, and all of the culinary exploits in where they're taking that. It really is offering a whole new level of luxury that's really tied together in a very hyperlocal sense. 
You know, wellness, culinary, mindfulness, all of those things and experiences are being curated right here. You're in the desert with the backdrop of the Sonoran Desert. This market is operating at such a high level. 

The airport continues to garner new international flights. About a month ago, we welcomed Air France. Air France is now serving Phoenix nonstop to Paris, which continues to push the boundaries of our international presence, which is great. And we're only now getting started, as you'd mentioned at the top of the call, of the tech boom—everything that's happening here in the semiconductor world. I wouldn't be surprised if you see another announcement with a nonstop flight to Asia in the next in the near horizon. 

So, there's a lot of things that are happening that's propelling this destination and moving us to the top of the list of places that's highly desired to host a meeting or convention. It's all of those things that are really coming into confluence here that's making us really a highly sought-after destination for not only the mega events, but in-house meetings and experiences, from resorts to large conventions, whether it be tech or healthcare focus, or sports, as we just talked about, too. 

So, it's a place that's going to be a great, highly sought-after destination for years to come. Thinking back on how we got to announcing the Sports Commission, it's really the city embarking on a thoughtful way of how do we grow? How do we capture, how do we celebrate our culture, and heritage? How do we elevate the arts and culture and tell those stories in a compelling fashion? 

So, really, the framework is there. It's just a matter of connecting the dots. And I think we're well on our way in doing that. Well,

Tyler Davidson  

Good. Thanks. Thanks, you guys; real dynamic time in your destination. And I'm sure both of you are very excited with all you have to work with.

Lorne Edwards

They're absolutely it's exciting times, and we welcome those listening. If you've got a meeting or event in the next six months, give us a call. Don't be shy. We'd be glad to have you here in in Phoenix and you can see what all the buzz is all about

Tyler Davidson  

Where should they reach out? What's the best way to get in contact with you?

Lorne Edwards

Just reach out on our website, we've got a great portal, you could send us your RFP there: VisitPhoenix.com meetings and upload your RFP and we'll be more than happy to take it from there. Or if you've got a meeting that you've got coming up, feel free to reach out to Jane and her team: Jane Vukovich@VisitPhoenix.com. 

If you're looking for support and event marketing strategies, we've got a team right there, ready. We got the best in the business right there ready to help.

Tyler Davidson  

Excellent. Well, thanks you guys for joining us today.

Lorne Edwards

Great. Appreciate that, Tyler. Thank you so much.

Tyler Davidson  

And that was Lorne Edwards, Chief Sales Officer with Visit Phoenix, as well as Jane Vukovich, Director of Destination Services. 
I'm Tyler Davidson, Vice President and Chief Content Director for Meetings Today. 

Thank you for joining us for this Meetings Today Podcast. If you're interested in other podcasts we’ve done with meetings and events industry thought leaders, just head on over to MeetingsToday.com and check out our podcast section. 

And whatever else you're up to with the rest of the day, go out and make it great.