Phoenix is marking the opening of its new light rail system with parties along the route today from 10 am til 5 pm. I'll be heading downtown this afternoon to check it out. All rides on the light rail are free until the 1st of the year and then will be $1.25 per ride or $2.50 for an all-day pass. This link from AZCentral has a lot of information on the new light rail, including maps, slideshows and articles. Here is the ValleyMetro home page.
Phoenix is also having a party today to celebrate - in conjunction with the light rail running past it - the grand opening of the new North Wing of the Phoenix Convention Center - an additional 550,000 square feet of convention space in downtown Phoenix. More information on the event can be found here.
Both the light rail and convention center expansion should help in revitalizing downtown Phoenix. The convention center expansion in particular is driving new demand for downtown hotels which will bring more consumers downtown. The first hotel to open that will help service downtown convention-goers is the new Sheraton - Arizona's largest hotel at 1,000 rooms. It opened this fall and is a short walk from the Phoenix Convention Center, US Airways Arena, Chase Field and other downtown businesses. And now with the light rail, people staying downtown can travel to locations like Mill Ave. in Tempe without needing a car. ASU downtown campus students will also be able to easily get to and from main campus in Tempe
Update: Coverage from the Phoenix Business Journal is here.
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