A Brief Update of News Around Arizona - December 2022
Attractions
Sierra Vista Launches Visitor App
Visit Sierra Vista has launched a free digital Sierra Vista Adventure Guide app available on the App Store and Google Play that makes it easier to learn what makes Sierra Vista an extraordinary place to visit. Now visitors and residents alike can access information, photos, maps, and fun facts about the area with a swipe of their finger. The app will be continuously updated, ensuring the most accurate information is available. Other useful features include one-click links to Sierra Vista's social media, audio walking tours, attraction ranking, itinerary planning, and more.
- Media Contact: Judy Hector, Marketing & Public Affairs Manager
- Tel: (520) 458-3315
- Email: [email protected]
Grand Canyon Cultural Demonstrator Series Moves for the Winter Season
Starting on December 2, 2022, through February 26, 2023, the Cultural Demonstrator Series will move from the Desert View Watchtower to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center (GCVC) on the Grand Canyon's South Rim to increase interactions with artists and the public during the slower winter months. Every Friday through Sunday, artists from tribes traditionally associated with the Grand Canyon will be in the lobby from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Cultural Demonstrator Series provides park visitors the opportunity to interact with tribal members and for the artisans to share their history and crafts. Weavers, carvers, potters, painters, sculptors and jewelers are just some of the disciplines presented. This series is made possible with grants from the Grand Canyon Conservancy.
After February 26, 2023, the Cultural Demonstrator Series will transition back to the Desert View Watchtower. GCVC is located approximately five miles north of the South Entrance to Grand Canyon National Park.
- Media Contact: Park Ranger Daniel Pawlak
- Tel: (928) 638-7893.
- Email: [email protected]
Grand Canyon National Park's Indian Garden Now Officially Called Havasupai Gardens
The U.S. Board of Geographic Names and National Park Service approved the Havasupai Tribe's name change request of Indian Garden to Havasupai Gardens. Havasupai Gardens is along the Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyon National Park South Rim and is a frequent stop for day hikers and backpackers.
Originally called Ha'a Gyoh, the National Park Service instituted policies in 1928 that forced the Havasupai people from Ha' a Gyoh. The renaming is a measure of respect for the undue hardship imposed on the Havasupai people.
- Media Contact: Joelle Baird, Public Affairs Specialist
- Tel: (928) 606-3154
- Email: [email protected]
Phoenix Rising FC to Relocate its Stadium
The Phoenix City Council approved a multi-year lease of land for Phoenix Rising FC's stadium and professional soccer training facility at 3801 East Washington Street, adjacent to the popular Phoenix Park 'n Swap. The capacity, look and feel of the club's current stadium at Wild Horse Pass will be transferred to the new, more centrally located site in Phoenix during the offseason. Rising intends to host its 2023 home opener and season at the new site beginning in March of 2023.
In addition to being centrally located, the new stadium site in Phoenix will provide Rising fans with abundant paved parking and light rail access directly to the stadium via the nearby Valley Metro Station light rail stop at 38th Street/GateWay Community College.
- Media Contact: Jason Minnicki, Director of Communications and Marketing at Phoenix Rising
- Tel: (570) 764-0294
- Email: [email protected]
Macerich Announces Enhancements to Luxury Experience at Scottsdale Fashion Square
Macerich recently announced the next phase of ongoing reinvestment in Scottsdale Fashion Square located at the heart of upscale Scottsdale, Arizona. Plans include an extensive interior and exterior renovation of the south wing.
The next phase will update and redefine the south wing anchored by Nordstrom. It will create a striking arrival point, with luxury valet service at the property's most active entrance. Also planned for this phase are two-story storefronts and exterior-facing retail buildings at the south entrance, and a porte cochere that will incorporate up to five destination restaurants. Interior renovation elements include new upscale finishes, natural stone flooring, three custom light fixtures and recessed LED lighting, elegant furnishings, and better sightlines to highlight individual retailers and deliver a more cohesive and holistic luxury experience for guests and retailers throughout the property.
Scottsdale Fashion Square is one of the nation's premier shopping destinations, with 1.9 million square feet and more than 240 shops and restaurants, plus a growing variety of exciting new uses including
high-end fitness + wellness destination Life Time Scottsdale and the new Caesars Republic Scottsdale boutique hotel, both now under construction. Macerich is planning the addition of more mixed-use elements on a seven-acre parcel immediately north of the mall. The plan will incorporate high-end residential units, class-A office space and hospitality uses.
- Media Contact: Kate Birchler, Assistant Vice President
- Tel: (602) 953-6502
- Email: [email protected]
Off The Field NFL Wives Association to Host Annual Charity Fashion Show at Scottsdale Fashion Square
Macerich and Scottsdale Fashion Square are pleased to announce their partnership with Off The Field NFL Wives Association to host their annual charity fashion show event during the week of “The Big Game” in February 2023. The event will take place Friday, February 10, 2023, at Scottsdale Fashion Square and celebrates the intersection of fashion, football and philanthropy. This will be the third time Off the Field and Scottsdale Fashion Square host the event together. The event showcases the wives and their NFL husbands walking the runway wearing fashions from Scottsdale Fashion Square retailers. The event is expected to draw a crowd of 400 guests.
- Media Contact: Angela Menninger, Co-Founder of Duality Public Relations
- Tel: (602) 373-8212
- Email: [email protected]
Flights
Phoenix Sky Harbor will be the First Airport to Offer Waymo Rider-Only Autonomous Vehicle Service Phoenix Sky Harbor International sets a global milestone to becoming the first airport in the world to offer travelers the ability to take a Waymo autonomous vehicle as a means of transportation to and from the airport. Waymo offers Trusted Tester participants, individuals that Waymo has selected from its confidential “Trusted Tester” program, to test the cars' latest features, provide feedback and the ability to catch a ride 24 hours, seven days a week, in Waymo's fully electric Jaguar I-PACE equipped with the fifth generation Waymo Driver.
Current trips take Trusted Tester participants to and from downtown Phoenix and the airport with an autonomous specialist in the vehicle. Pickups and drop-offs occur at the 44th Street PHX Sky Train® Station. This new service comes two years after Waymo opened its fully autonomous commercial ride-hail service, Waymo One, to the public in the East Valley of Phoenix; and builds on the company's partnership with the City of Phoenix. In the future, the specialist will be removed from the vehicle and the ability to hail rides will open to the general public.
- Media Contact: Heather Shelbrack, Communications and Outreach Administrator
- Tel: (602) 683-2634
- Email: [email protected]
Breeze Airways Launches New Flights From Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Breeze Airways is launching four new destinations from Phoenix in February, including nonstop service to Hartford, Richmond and Bentonville-Fayetteville, as well as one-stop/no plane change 'BreezeThru' flights to New Orleans.
On November 19th, Breeze launched service from Phoenix to Charleston, SC, and Provo-Salt Lake City, UT.
- Media Contact: Gareth Edmondson-Jones, Director, External Communications & Media Relations
- Tel: (917) 339-9355
- Email: [email protected]
Hotel News
North America's First Landscape Hotel, Ambiente, Opens in December
The highly anticipated Ambiente, A Landscape Hotel opens December 26 in Sedona. Ambiente features 40 cubed-shaped, glass-encased Atrium guest rooms designed to blend in with the surrounding geography and provides 360-degree panoramic views. Each Atrium provides a petite kitchen with complimentary refreshments and on-demand wine dispensers with a selection of Northern Arizona wines. Private rooftop decks offer a daybed for sunbathing and stargazing experiences.
The main building offers meeting spaces and a five-room spa, Velvet Spa, that provides treatments using locally sourced ingredients. The hotel's full-service signature restaurant, Forty1, serves complimentary breakfast and purchased dinners. For fast-casual dining, The Drifter, a custom Airstream-hosted culinary destination, will serve lunch and poolside fare daily.
It is an adults-only hotel for guests 21 years and older and is now accepting online reservations for stays beginning February 10, 2023, with room rates starting from $1,800 per night. Two Atriums are ADA-compliant for guests of all abilities.
- Media Contact: Savannah Kirmis, Senior Account Executive
- Tel: (480) 626-8290
- Email: [email protected]
Mii amo Announces February 2023 Reopening
Mii amo, a destination spa in Sedona, reopens on February 2, 2023, after undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation and expansion. The expansion includes a new light-filled movement and fitness wing, a signature restaurant, a dedicated consultation wing with a spectacular view of Boynton Canyon, and a private suite of spaces exclusively for Journey guests, guests that reserve an all-inclusive multiple-day Mii amo experience, in addition to new treatment rooms, guest rooms and suites.
In addition to Mii amo's existing 16 Casita guest rooms and suites, three new Casita buildings have been added. Spa facilities include 21 treatment rooms and new steam rooms and saunas. Mii amo will extend the length of all treatments to 75-125 minute sessions. A new consultation wing with a dedicated relaxation space provides a private setting for sessions with Mii amo's mindfulness team and therapists.
- Media Contact: Alexa Chavez, Marketing Coordinator
- Tel: (928) 203-6016
- Email: [email protected]
COVID-19 Updates in Arizona
For visitor guidance due to COVID-19 such as mask-wearing, a list of tourism-related reopenings or closures, and a link to public health guidelines, click here: https://www.visitarizona.com/covid-19/. Some attractions are open year-round and some are open seasonally or move to seasonal hours. To ensure the places you want to see are open on your travel dates, please check their website for hours of operation.
Connect
Newsroom: https://www.visitarizona.com/newsroom/
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