The last time Glendale hosted the Super Bowl, the Glendale Convention & Visitors Bureau didn’t even exist.
“The 2008 Super Bowl was the first time the City of Glendale took on such a mega event,” said Lorraine Pino, manager of the Glendale CVB. “The Super Bowl was the perfect opportunity to not only showcase the the state of Arizona, but specifically our region. It was because of the success of the 2008 Super Bowl that our West Valley tourism partners saw opportunities to create a new regional message, to really work together and have partnerships that we’d never really thought of before. Those partners came to us and said, ‘We want Glendale to be the official CVB of the West Valley and showcase all 14 West Valley cities.’”
With a goal of building and enhancing the West Valley’s brand, the Glendale CVB was born in July 2010. Now, just four years later, the Glendale CVB is bracing itself for the busiest 18 months in its short history. Glendale will host the biggest event in professional sports — the 2015 Super Bowl, along with the Pro Bowl — and a year later it will host the biggest event in college sports — the 2016 college football National Championship Game.
Az Business magazine caught up with Pino and asked her to share some of the secrets of her success.
How is the tourism industry doing in Glendale?
We are just starting benchmarks because we are so new. But last year, we saw a 10 percent increase in hotel occupancy in the West Valley and that’s a significant number. Over the last few years, flat was the new normal and we can now boast of double-digit increases. That speaks highly of the partnerships our hotels have with our restaurants and entertainment destinations to make sure our visitors — whether they are sports fans, here on a business trip or here for leisure — have the best experience possible from the moment they step off the airplane until the moment they step back onto the airplane so they want to come back for future visits.
What’s been the biggest challenge to starting the CVB?
I am often asked what it was like to open a CVB in 2010 during one of the worst economic downturns in the state’s history, but it turned out to be one of the best times because people were willing and wanted to find new partnerships and find a new way to do business so we were able to capitalize on that openness to create great partnerships. We worked with more that 300 West Valley tourism partners to form the CVB in July 2010. Since then, we have been gaining steam each and every day. Now, we have another big opportunity to show what Arizona and the West Valley has to offer.
How has Glendale attracted so many major events?
After the Super Bowl was so successful, we began the long process of putting together a convention and visitors bureau that would showcase the 14 West Valley cities. We began a group called the West Valley Events Coalition, a coalition of West Valley partners that really wanted to bring in these mega events that have a major economic impact for all our partners and bring in new customers for the area. Because we have the infrastructure, from the stadium to the arena to the majority of the spring training baseball facilities, we were primed for success. We’re also really known for our Southwestern hospitality and have built the reputation that we really roll out the red carpet when people come to Arizona. But it all comes down to partnerships. We have 1,500 rooms in Glendale, which is not enough to host large-scale events. But by taking a regional approach with our partners, the 14 West Valley cities have 8,000 rooms, which gives us the ability to put a lot of heads in beds and showcase the region.
What is the biggest change since the 2008 Super Bowl?
We have a lot of new infrastructure that visitors who came in 2008 didn’t experience, whether it’s the growth at the Westgate Entertainment District; the addition of Tanger Outlets, which is now going through its second expansion; and the development along Loop 101 and now Loop 303. Things are heading west, the growth is exploding and it’s fantastic because it not only benefits the short-term visitor, but it improves the quality of life for our residents. Because of these large-scale events and the money they leave behind and business that they leave behind, they benefit all of the residents in the West Valley.
What impact DO sports have on tourism?
Sports is huge for the state of Arizona and specifically for the West Valley. Sports have changed the face of who we are. I am a 43-year resident of Glendale and I can tell you that the past 10 years have seen Glendale transform from a wonderful bedroom community into a destination that people from all over the world want to visit. A big part of that is because of sports. When the lights go off in the stadium, the lights stay on in our homes. Because of the sports that go on in our city and the money they generate, the quality of life in Glendale is better than it’s ever been.
