GLENDALE, AZ — If you’ve driven down Loop 101 in Glendale, you’ve probably seen the construction of VAI Resort. So how are things looking for the grand opening slated for 2023? Here’s an inside walk-thru of the current construction process and what’s to come for the new 60-acre entertainment spot in the West Valley.
HOTEL ROOMS
What’s the price you’ll be paying to stay here?
“So, we’re going to be non-event day/year probably from the $500 to the $800 on true event days, we’re bundling in concert tickets with those hotel rooms- those are going to exceed those values,” said Grant Fisher, president at VAI Global Development, to ABC15.
MUSIC CENTRIC TOWER
ABC15 was part of the media tour for the first look of VAI Resort. The walkthrough focused on one of the four hotel towers. Here’s an inside look of the ‘music-centric tower.’
“What I mean by music-centric hotel is it’s really part hotel- part auditoriums. So, guests can have a first-time opportunity to watch actual concert venue, comedian act, A-B-C artists, from their own hotel balcony,” said Grant to ABC15. “So, what we did, is we incorporated what you’ve seen in other auditoriums- whether it’s the sky boxes or private box lounges- and we actually merged them into a hotel balcony,” he added.
Grant disclosed to ABC15 that VAI Resort plans to have a lineup of concerts and artist residencies- but did not disclose any names. Concerts and stars coming to the entertainment resort are expected to be announced early next year “around Super Bowl time.”
COMMUNITY ACCESS
Let’s say you’re not a hotel guest, what do you have access to? “All the retail and all the restaurants, they have access to. To get [in] any part of water features, to get onto the island, to get to the pool decks,” said Grant and reiterated that you’ll have to be a hotel guest to get in on any of the hotel towers.
The resort is expected to have 100,000 square feet of ‘high-end retail shopping.’ As of now, the resort has not confirmed any of the tenants that’ll be opening here. But Grant did disclose the following, “some of our partners are going to be making their first-ever kind of store within Arizona. These companies are in Miami and Los Angeles and New York. So very high-end brand-name. But it’s really going to range from the really curated boutique stores all the way to high luxury.”
WATER AT THE RESORT
One of the top concerns from our viewers in past VAI Resort coverage is the water that’ll be used for the “water oasis” that’s set to be six acres big. Here’s what Grant had to say about that.
“Already our engineers are telling me that we’re going to using half of the allotted water that was previously used as an agricultural site,’ said Grant. “But what we’re doing in addition to that is, all the backwash- from the swimming oasis- is going to be used for irrigation for our landscaping. We’re also using a lot of fake landscaping that doesn’t even take any water. So, we’re using the latest fixture and water equipment and utilities that really conserve as much water as possible.”
COMING 2023
The entertainment resort is set to open in late 2023.
![Construction view [as of Dec.1, 2022] of the 'music centric tower' entrance that's right off the 101.](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b060285/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1376x768+0+0/resize/1280x714!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd7%2F19%2F6895d3c54e23ac7813b7b192da53%2Fscreen-shot-2022-06-02-at-12.57.43%20PM%20%2810%29.jpg)
With the Cardinals stadium, Desert Diamond Arena, and other attractions nearby- how will traffic be handled? “So, we’ve run multiple studies again with us being right adjacent from the 101. We have very good ingress and egress from our site. So, we’ve done all those studies already with the city. But yes, parking, share rides, and everything else to this site has been thought of,” said Grant.
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