Score! It's Not Too Late to Book a Room for Super Bowl Weekend
Getting into the Super Bowl won’t be the only tough ticket in the Phoenix area. There’s also finding a room. (Courtesy: Arizona Cardinals)
For many sports fans, a perfect trifecta occurs in Greater Phoenix from Jan. 24 through Feb. 1. That’s when three major sporting events converge: the NFL’s Pro Bowl, the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open (WMPO), and biggest of all, Super Bowl XLIX. What does that mean for an area with a population of 4.3 million? Upwards of 1 million visitors in a seven-day span.
Though hotel rooms are scarce during Super Bowl week, it’s not impossible to find a place to stay in Phoenix and its surrounding areas. However, it will cost you.
Checking in
Where might someone find accommodations during this perfect storm of a week? Good question. The Super Bowl website has a page for those feeling lucky.
Greater Phoenix is made up of 20 cities and towns, among them Glendale, where the Super Bowl will be played at the University of Phoenix Stadium, and Scottsdale, where the WMPO takes place. Yahoo Travel put out an alert for hotels with vacancies. Three responded.
“We have a fair share of our inventory available for sale in all room categories,” reports Ramon Martinez, director of public relations for Talking Stick Resort, which is located in Scottsdale.
Pool at the Hotel Valley Ho, which requires a four-night minimum stay. (Courtesy: Hotel Valley Ho)
To grab one of the 496 guest rooms, visitors must commit to a four-night minimum stay that’s restricted to arrivals on Jan. 29. “Any arrivals prior to that depart no earlier than February 2,” says Martinez. “We’re not currently accepting arrivals on January 30, but that could change soon.” Rates start at a cool $959 per night.
Downtown Scottsdale’s Hotel Valley Ho has some of its Tower Suites available for $1,499 per night for a four-night stay from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, or $1,999 per night for three nights from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2. These pricey reservations must be prepaid and are noncancelable/nonrefundable.
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Some surprises can be happened upon, too, like Bespoke Inn, Café & Bicycles, where two rooms remain available, including its Signature Flat. “It’s $1,500 per night with a four-night minimum over Super Bowl weekend,” says owner Kate Hennen. “Brunch and bikes are included.” Also up for grabs is a standard room with a king-sized bed for $750 per night.
Rooms are still available at Bespoke Inn, Café & Bicycles. (Photo: Angelica Dixon)
Despite hefty price tags, Phoenix area accommodations are, for the most part, sold out. Going nontraditional through services renting local homes may be the answer. “There’s still a lot of inventory for Super Bowl fans to choose from,” Adam Annen, HomeAway Inc.’s public relations manager, told Yahoo Travel. “And while rates are at a premium due to the popularity of these events, traveling with family or a group of friends to a vacation rental allows for splitting costs, making accommodations more affordable.”
HomeAway’s portfolio for Greater Phoenix has the following available from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1:
Phoenix – 693 property listings
57 properties available
Scottsdale area – 1,601 property listings
152 properties available
Tempe – 103 property listings
10 properties available
Glendale – 113 property listings
17 properties available
Chandler – 183 property listings
8 properties available
Some other home/condo rental companies with options include Signature Vacation Rentals, with 20 of its 200 properties open for booking at a weekly rate ranging from $3,000 to $35,000, and BookMyVacay.com, with 70 of its 80 properties available with a weekly rate ranging from $6,000 to $60,000.
Hot ticket events
Part of the football-related flair in Phoenix. (Photo: Slingshot Photography)
Once you’ve found a place to stay, you can start prioritizing the high-profile festivities surrounding Super Bowl weekend.
Kicking things off on Jan. 25 is the NFL Pro Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. This is only the second time in 36 years the Pro Bowl has not been held in Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium.
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“It was a strategic request to the NFL to consider moving the Pro Bowl to Arizona to complement Super Bowl XLIX,” Jay Parry, president and CEO of the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, told Yahoo Travel. “Hosting the Pro Bowl will add additional economic impact and media exposure for Arizona.”
Though this will be the first Pro Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium, the home field of the Arizona Cardinals, the stadium hosted its first Super Bowl action in 2008. (Altogether, the NFL championship game has been held three times in Arizona.)
University of Phoenix Stadium from the outside. (Courtesy: Arizona Cardinals)
With the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee projecting an influx of 100,000 visitors for the Feb. 1 Super Bowl XLIX alone, where will those without a “golden ticket” be? They can choose from myriad activities relating to the big game.
Super Bowl Central in downtown Phoenix will be a hotbed of activity. The 12-block fan campus will feature everything from stages dedicated for concerts, autograph signings, and television network broadcasts to beer and wine gardens and a nightly fireworks show.
The neighboring city of Scottsdale will host a Fan Fest at Scottsdale Fashion Square. Here, ESPN will broadcast live throughout the week at what has been described as a “weeklong pep rally” by Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau Communications Manager Megan Neighbor. Events turn sophisticated with January 30’s NFL Wives Fashion Show, where 45 participants will be escorted down the runway by their spouses.
The TPC Scottsdale, where the PGA Waste Management Phoenix Open will be played. (Courtesy: WMPhoenix Open)
Popular on the eve of the Super Bowl is Taste of the NFL, held at WestWorld of Scottsdale. Thirty-two food and wine stations, one from each NFL city, will serve up fare with profits benefiting each city’s food bank. Beyond good eats and celeb cells, there will be live music and former NFL players on site for autographs.
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Scottsdale’s trolley system and its four routes make it easy to access these festivities and others, including Hashknife Pony Express, Stetson Block Party, Giligin’s Block Party, 1st & Ten Kickoff Concert and Party, Arizona Indian Festival, Talking Stick Festival, Old Town Farmers Market, the Big Game ArtWalk, and Food Truck Caravan. Also fitting the week’s theme is the play Lombardi at Desert Stages Theatre.
The Coors Light Birds Nest party will add to the weekend atmosphere. (Courtesy: Scottsdale CVB)
Though a whole lot of football will be happening in Phoenix, the biggest draw in terms of combined attendance is the PGA Waste Management Phoenix Open (WMPO), which last year set a PGA Tour world record for attendance. Rob Myers, WMPO director of media relations, predicts this year’s tournament at TPC Scottsdale will easily topple last year’s record of 563,008 fans.
“Having the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl during the same week brings with it some fans who aren’t usually in town,” Myers said. “Plus, there are many great daytime and evening options for things to do and see.”
Adding to the Super Bowl’s party atmosphere will be the Coors Light Birds Nest party. The four-day event will feature such artists as Capital Cities, Afrojack, Darius Rucker, and Kid Rock. So for all those folks who couldn’t get in for Katy Perry’s halftime show, rocking every minute out of Phoenix’s Super Bowl week can still be accomplished.
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