What's New at Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale

Four years ago, a Tuesday night at Westgate meant one thing: whether the Coyotes were playing. If they were, the plaza filled with jerseys and the restaurants ran a dinner rush. If they weren't, the district went quiet. In August 2026, Westgate offered something different: a beginner's pickleball clinic at Chicken N Pickle and comedy at Stir Crazy. Neither depended on a scoreboard.

That shift wasn't an accident, and it wasn't just about replacing one tenant with another. It came from a decision about how to measure whether the district was working at all.

How Westgate Measures Activity

As Cronkite News reported, the Coyotes played their last game at Desert Diamond Arena on April 29, 2022, ending a 19-year relationship with the City of Glendale. For nearly two decades, Westgate's rhythm had been built around 41 home games a year. When that anchor left, the district lost its easiest yardstick for success: how many people showed up on a given night.

So the City of Glendale and the district's property manager changed what they were measuring. Annual visitor counts for Westgate are difficult to verify, so both the city and YAM Properties now track success through sales tax revenue instead of raw attendance numbers, a method considered more reliable because it captures spending levels in addition to visits. That's a quiet but real change in how the district judges itself. A packed arena on game night used to be the win. Now the win is whether people are spending money on a Tuesday when nothing is scheduled at all.

That distinction explains almost everything else that's happened at Westgate since.

What Actually Filled the Calendar

If you can't count on one team to fill 41 nights a year, you have to build a reason to show up on the other 324. Westgate's answer has been to lean into family-oriented, recurring activity instead of single-event spikes. Westgate has focused its rebrand on targeting family-friendly events and providing a safe environment, according to district leadership. The broader argument from Westgate's side is that the entire area can keep thriving even after a major sports team leaves.

The hospitality numbers back that up in one specific case. The Renaissance hotel at Westgate was named hotel of the year by the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association in 2024 and earned the best revenue team in North America award from Marriott in 2025. That's not a sports-driven metric. It's a sign that people are booking rooms and spending money at Westgate independent of any single game or concert.

The scale of what's actually operating there now is bigger than most residents probably realize. Westgate encompasses more than 70 restaurants, retailers, offices and entertainment venues, including PopStroke, Chicken N Pickle, Yard House, State 48 Funk House Brewery, Kabuki Japanese Restaurant, Stir Crazy Comedy Club, Just Sports, Sugar Factory and AMC Theatres. And it's not a place that goes quiet between headline events. More than 250 events take place there each year, ranging from live music every Friday and Saturday night to Bike Nights, Hot Rod Nights, Fitness in the District and a holiday ice rink.

Recent and Recurring at Westgate

The calendar isn't theoretical. Here are recent and recurring items from it.

The August 8 pickleball clinic was built for brand-new players or those needing a refresher, covered basic strokes, game rules, scoring and court positioning, and included paddle rentals. Earlier this summer, Westgate hosted a free patriotic celebration for the Fourth of July weekend with live music, face painting, train rides, bounce houses, a water play zone and a fireworks display. Neither of those events needed a professional sports schedule to draw a crowd.

One practical note if you're heading over on a night when something bigger is happening at the arena or stadium next door: on Desert Diamond Arena or State Farm Stadium event days, parking lots surrounding those two venues carry a charge during certain hours depending on the event's start time. Westgate-operated lots are typically free outside those windows, so the timing of your visit matters more than it used to.

Tenant Experiences During the Transition

The transition has not been smooth for every tenant. Some businesses say concerts and other events have not returned as frequently as expected. Just Sports, a retailer that's been part of the district through the change, has said the Coyotes' departure hurt foot traffic. Tenants have also raised paid parking as a concern.

These accounts describe a transition that has affected businesses differently. Activity at Westgate varies by day and event, and some businesses that built their model around hockey season are still adjusting.

What's Underway and What's Proposed

For residents wondering what's actually coming versus what's still on paper, it's worth separating the two.

Already moving forward:

• YAM Properties brought on Western Retail Advisors in late 2025 specifically to fill vacancies, targeting four to five new restaurants totaling around 50,000 square feet within 12 to 18 months of that hire, a window that runs into 2027.
• Zanjero III, a 301-unit apartment complex, is under development near Westgate off 91st and Glendale avenues.

Still in the planning and approval stage:

• A 209-room, seven-story Moxy Hotel by Marriott has been proposed for the northwest corner of Maryland and 95th avenues, including a resort-style pool, bars and an outdoor patio. As of the original 2024 announcement, the opening target was the second half of this year, though hotel construction timelines can slip and no opening date has been confirmed.
• Envision Encore, a mixed-use proposal with apartments, retail and potentially hotels at 99th Avenue and Ballpark Boulevard just across the 101 from State Farm Stadium, was recommended for approval by Glendale's planning and zoning commission back in March 2025.

Zanjero III is under development. The restaurant search, Moxy proposal and Envision Encore proposal are still in progress.

What This Means If You Already Live Here

The sales-tax pivot isn't just a bookkeeping detail. It's the reason Westgate feels less like a place you go for one specific thing and more like a place you might end up on an ordinary Tuesday. A district built around 41 hockey nights had built-in dead time. A district built around recurring, spend-driven activity doesn't. That's the actual mechanism behind the pickleball clinics, the comedy nights, the new restaurant search, and the apartment construction happening within walking distance.

If you've noticed Westgate feeling different this year, that's not your imagination. It's a deliberate bet that a Tuesday can be worth as much to the district as a Saturday used to be when the Coyotes were in town.

For homeowners near Westgate who are curious how this kind of neighborhood investment tends to show up in property values over time, or who just want a second set of eyes on what's actually happening around them, Eddie Villalobos and his team track these shifts across Glendale and the rest of Greater Phoenix as part of everyday work, not just when someone's ready to move. Start Your Property Search whenever you're ready. The pickleball paddles were free at the August 8 clinic.