This 2013 photo shows an empty street outside of the Phoenix Convention Center at Third and Washington streets in downtown Phoenix. (Submitted photo/Wikipedia Commons)
By Mark Carlisle | YourValley
“It’s that place where you go where you don’t know what’s going on, but you know it’s going to be fun,” said Xandon Keating, Phoenix Deputy Director of Community and Economic Development.
As the city rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic that kept people home, city officials are considering marketing a downtown entertainment district that would be a nightlife hub.
During Wednesday’s Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee meeting, city staff presented the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego, Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, and Honky Tonk Highway in Nashville, Tennessee as inspiration toward what could be created in Phoenix.
“I know when we go to San Diego, a lot of times we’ll just go down to the Gaslamp Quarter because we know it’s going to be fun,” Keating said. “We don’t know what’s going to be happening down there, but we know we’re going to have a good time.”
Discussion around such a district began before the start of the pandemic in early 2020 when the Phoenix Convention Center did a sports and leisure study.
