Phoenix, the nation�s 5th-largest city, will deliver a 1,000-room hotel to accompany its innovative, high-tech, expanded convention center. The Phoenix City Council today approved the new Sheraton hotel that will be owned by the city and constructed in downtown Phoenix�s Copper Square. The hotel is scheduled to open upon completion of the expanded Phoenix Civic Plaza Convention Center and other downtown revitalization projects, as early as late 2008.

�In the next five years, downtown Phoenix will transform itself into a 24/7 city, with a new 1,000-room hotel, a Civic Plaza that's triple the size, the Phoenix Bioscience Center and 15,000 ASU students and faculty,� said Mayor Phil Gordon.

The hotel will substantially increase room inventory for the downtown convention market, and will provide delegates with convenient walking access to the convention center, located just one block away.

�The new, 1,000-room downtown hotel is the necessary public infrastructure to service central city businesses and to maximize the investment in Civic Plaza,� said Sheryl Sculley, assistant city manager.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc will manage the property under its Sheraton flag. Starwood also runs publicly financed hotels for Overland Park, Kansas; and Sacramento, California. In addition, Starwood manages other high-profile properties in the Greater Phoenix area, including The Phoenician, Wigwam, Westin Kierland, and Sheraton Wild Horse Pass. The new hotel will increase Starwood�s presence to almost 4,000 rooms in Greater Phoenix.

�This is a milestone for the Starwood family here in Phoenix,� said Rick Suhl, VP of Operations, SW Region, for Starwood. �We will have the capability to truly support the Starwood Sales Network from around the world with a variety of hotels and resorts in the Phoenix metro area. As we combine the quality of the new hotel with the Sheraton Brand, and couple that with the efforts of the City of Phoenix and the expanded and remodeled convention center space, this can only be considered a huge win for the City of Phoenix, the surrounding areas and the state.�

Opportunity for an Economic Downtown Engine

Together, the expanded convention center and new hotel will bring additional visitor dollars to downtown Phoenix, and to the region, as more than half of all Civic Plaza convention attendees travel outside of Phoenix.

�We kept this project fairly quiet with our clients this past year as we did not want to announce this until it was an absolute reality,� said Greater Phoenix CVB President/CEO Steve Moore. �To get the city to expand the center and invest in a large hotel within a year of the other speaks to this city�s commitment to the meetings industry.�

The demand for a third, large hotel is reflected in the GPCVB�s tracking of lost opportunities associated with the current downtown package. Since 1986, almost 300 conventions representing 1.1 million delegates, 2.5 million room nights and $1.3 billion in direct expenditures have contacted the Greater Phoenix CVB with interest in booking downtown Phoenix, but eliminated the destination primarily due to the current lack of adequate hotel room inventory.

�This does not take into account those clients who knew not to even ask,� Moore said. The new Sheraton Hotel will complement current downtown hotels that include the Hyatt Regency (712 rooms) and the Wyndham Phoenix (532 rooms) and will be located at Van Buren and 3rd streets, in the heart of Downtown Phoenix, which provides visitors with a wide array of outlets for cuisine, entertainment and culture. Bank One Ballpark, America West Arena, the Herberger Theater Center, Symphony Hall, Orpheum Theatre, Arizona Center, Dodge Theatre, and the Arizona Science Center are just a few of the adjacent options available to visitors. The award-winning Heard Museum and the Phoenix Art Museum are within two miles.

Expanded Convention Center Has Already Broken Ground

Groundbreaking for the three-phase, $600 million expansion took place in May, 2004. When completed, the new convention center will triple in size to more than 900,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space. All construction on the facility is scheduled to be complete in mid-2009.

The addition of the new West Building, which is the first phase of the expansion project, will provide 165,000 square feet of space on four levels, and is scheduled to be ready for groups in early 2006.

The existing South Building will remain in operation throughout the first two phases of construction, providing an additional 143,000 square feet of space that can be utilized entirely for exhibits or for meeting and exhibit space.

The construction phases of the expansion will be completed with the intent of minimizing impact on meetings. The Phoenix Civic Plaza Convention Center will remain open and functional for the duration of the construction project.

For additional information, please contact Doug MacKenzie or Scott White at the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau at (602) 452-6250 or (602) 452-6212 or click to www.phx2006.com or www.phoenixconventioncenter.com.

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Media Contact: Doug MacKenzie Greater Phoenix CVB (602) 452-6250