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Desert Diamond Arena: How the $42 million investment aims to make the venue a ‘music mecca’ destination

The redesign aims at more than 20 spaces in the venue

This monthly “Things To Do” (Part 1) special is sponsored by Visit Sonora. It's a new year packed with fun events and new businesses opening across the Valley! ABC15’s Nicole Gutierrez brings you sneak peeks of some of the best shows & attractions to check out with the family this January!

A look at what Desert Diamond Arena's $42 million investment entails.

By: Nicole Gutierrez

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GLENDALE, AZ — Desert Diamond Arena has been under a $42 million renovation project to become a ‘music mecca’ destination.

The investment is in the redesign of more than 20 spaces in the venue. The renovations have been underway at Desert Diamond Arena and it never closed during the several upgrades it had planned.

ABC15’s Nicole Gutierrez sat down with General Manager Dale Adams for an inside scoop on what some of the areas will look like once they open for the public and an in-depth look at the redesigns.

“It’s a $40-million-plus renovation that is going to, in our mind, create this great kind of a mecca for music...We want a music-centric [venue,] we want something that's really going to kind of change the way we look at it, an immersive experience that really gives everyone a shot at some type of premium level,” said Adams.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Some of the renovations will be on the exterior of the structure.

“We're going to change the look of the building. We're going to paint the outside of the building. […] We're going to paint the interior concourses and in general, change that vibe. We want more of a kind of music, kind of clubby vibe to it,” said Adams.

Rendering of the Desert Diamond Arena with its new renovations.

Areas of the main and upper concourses will have several renovations.

“[There’s the] Marketplace, new bars, new concessions. Everything's redone [and] repainted. And then you got the two suite levels — regular suite level redone and upper suite level is going to be the Encore [Club] and The View,” shared Adams.

“The upper concourses kind of get painted, it'll be redone a little bit, but that'll probably be a phase three or four as we move on, along with a few other spaces that we're targeting,” explained Adams. “In addition to that, we're also putting money into the backstage production area, you know, I think that's going to be pretty cool for the artist space. The artists are happy, and then we get more shows, and then everyone [who] comes in the front door is happy.”

According to Adams, creating a seamless entry to the venue has also been a top priority.

“We also have new Evolve Magnetometers, so you can walk through, there's no more emptying your pockets and everything. Obviously […] if it goes off and detects something, then we'll just pull them aside. But people get in so much quicker,” he said.

Part of the renovation additions also include the Encore Club theatre boxes, 14 club 623 Studio Booths, and 341 club seats in The View.

A LITTLE MORE IN-DEPTH

What are the 623 Studio Booths? “It feels like you're in a sound booth, but you're looking at the act performing. So, you're going to have a table that looks like a sound control board […] and you're going to overlook the arena itself, because you're on the end of the arena overlooking at the stages, and it's really a cool space. We're going to have those built out,” shared Adams.

The Marketplace: This is the beverage and culinary zone with a new Grab and Go area.

All the renovations are slated to be completed this spring.

“Come into March, beginning of April, that's when it'll be finished. And then moving forward for any events we have after that; we'll go ahead and be able to just kind of have it full force- everything's ready to go, and everyone can participate in these areas as we move forward,” said Adams.