When Mesa entertained / P. 17
MAC previews art / P. 32
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
Get a room – and that’s about it in Mesa BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
NEWS . ...........................10 Water feud among states stymies Mesa, other cities.
Sunday, August 21, 2022
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com
A
s Mesa’s tourism economy slowly climbs back to pre-pandemic levels, economic development officials think the city needs more and higher-end lodging in order to fully reap the economic benefits of visitors to the city. According to market data presented by Visit Mesa to the Economic Development Advisory Board earlier this month, the volume of visi-
tors to Mesa isn’t quite back to 2019 levels – but other metrics have grown. Occupancy is higher now than before the pandemic – 69.1% for 2022 compared to 68.6% in 2019. Average daily rate is way up this year – likely due in part to inflation – at $109.32 per night, compared to $87.45 in 2019. But while demand and rates for overnight accommodations in Mesa are up, the supply and variety of offerings has not increased. In June of this year, Mesa’s supply of hotel
rooms was 1.7% lower than the previous year. The inventory of rooms is stagnant, and what’s available is dominated by limited-service hotels offering travelers a comfortable bed and bathroom for the night but few other amenities. Mesa Economic Development Director Bill Jabjiniak said there are many hotel projects currently in the pipeline, but most of these are for more of the same – limited service hotels.
see HOTEL page 3
New Gateway Airport tower to be dedicated
BUSINESS . .....................21 Father-son modernize Mesa market the oldfashioned way.
SPORTS . ..................... 29 Skyline coach changing football culture.
COMMUNITY .............................. 17 BUSINESS ................................... 21 OPINION ..................................... 25 SPORTS ...................................... 29 GET OUT ...................................... 32 CLASSIFIED ............................... 39 ZONE 1
BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
M
embers of Arizona’s congressional delegation and dignitaries from the region will dedicate PhoenixMesa Gateway Airport’s new 199-foot air traffic tower. It’s a major milestone for the East Valley and the airport, but for the children of Queen Creek’s Geoffrey Minor, who managed the project for builder DPR, it will likely remain “Daddy’s tower.” “Every time I drive by the project, my kids point it out, ‘there’s Daddy’s tower,’” Minor said. “It’s a source of pride for me and a landmark for the community that it’s cool to have been a part of.” Gateway’s new traffic control tower is now Mesa’s second-tallest building, after the 224foot Mesa Financial Plaza at the corner of
see TOWER page 6
The new control tower at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, left, will soon take over local air traffic control and ground movement operations from a control tower that is over 40 years old and served the much smaller footprint of Williams Air Force Base. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)
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