PHOENIX – The Phoenix Convention Center is having an unprecedented summer, according to officials.
By the numbers:
Jerry Harper with the convention center said 2025 has been off to a rather great start.
“We had groups that just came back this past summer that were cancellations from the [COVID-19] Pandemic,” said Harper. “It shows they still really wanted to find a way to come here.”
According to figures from a new independent audit, the center bounced back from the pandemic in 2023, with more than 403,000 attendees that year. That marked a 27% increase from its pre-pandemic high that was set in 2019.
It should be noted that numbers for 2024 have not yet been released.
Dig deeper:
The audit also found the center is making more for the city and the state than what it cost to build the venue.
According to a report by the Arizona Auditor General that was released on June 26, 2025, events held at the center brought in an estimated $42.3 million in tax revenues for the State of Arizona for the 2023 calendar year, which is more than the state’s contribution of $25.5 million towards the center’s expansion program.
“Since its expansion, the Phoenix Convention Center generated an estimated additional $299.3 million in State tax revenues, which is more than the $270.4 million the State distributed to the Phoenix Convention Center. Therefore, the City of Phoenix owes no monies back to the State for fiscal year 2025,” read a portion of the report.
What they’re saying:
“We really need to prove we’re bringing in the revenue that we promised we would, and this last audit just confirmed that,” said Harper.
Harper said this is good news for the convention center and beyond.
“You’re looking at the benefits from the bars, the restaurants, the hotels, aside from the revenue the convention center gets,” said Harper.
Harper said they’ve grown so much, they need a lot more hotel rooms in the Downtown Phoenix area. He said during busy weeks recently, they have had to get creative to offer hotel rooms outside of the Downtown footprint for convention center attendees.