Phoenix Tickets Finder

That’s right folks, for a mere $155 million you too could have had a major NFL-ready stadium named after you for the next 20 years. But you’re too late here in Phoenix; The University of Phoenix already snapped up the naming rights to the former Cardinal Stadium.

For those of you not familiar with University of Phoenix there is this from their wiki:

University of Phoenix (UOP) is a for-profit educational institution specializing in adult education, with campuses located throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. UOP was founded in 1976 by Dr. John Sperling. In the early 1970’s, at San Jose State University in California, Sperling and several associates conducted field-based research in adult education. The focus of the research was to explore teaching/learning systems for the delivery of educational programs and services to working adult students who wished to complete or further their education in ways that complemented both their experience and current professional responsibilities. At that time colleges and universities were organized primarily around serving the needs of the 18-22 year old undergraduate student. That is not at all surprising, given that the large majority of those enrolled were residential students of traditional college age, just out of high school. According to Sperling, working adult students were often “invisible” on traditional campuses and treated as second-class citizens.

In other words, it is college for people with real jobs already. Last I checked there are more than 150,000 students enrolled and I’m guessing that number will double or triple in a few years with this kind of exposure. If they can afford the deal then I say good for them.

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Ok all y’all Roger Waters fans in Arizona, time is running out to get tickets to his October 3rd show at Cricket Pavillion. He’s no spring chicken any more (cracked 60 on 2003) but he is a legend and can apparently still rock.

If you are looking for tickets it looks like they range from lawn seats at about $70 to front row seats for $1700. (Yeah you read right…) Anyway, see here for the best prices and here and here for some other pretty good inventory. Happy hunting.

Up and coming band The All-American Rejects is coming to town soon. They have a show scheduled at the Dodge Theater on November 28. About the band their wiki says:

The All-American Rejects are an American power pop band that formed in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Their latest album Move Along was released in 2005 while the single “Dirty Little Secret” reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2006 and number 18 in the UK top 40 in June 2006.

You might also recognize their 2003 minor hit “Swing, Swing”

Anyway if you need decent tickets and are having trouble getting your hands on some here is what we recommend: (more…)

Dang — Geezer rock is on FIRE lately. Not only are the Stones coming to town but Aerosmith and Motley Crue are rolling in together as well. (The Stones are playing the stadium and these two bands are sharing Cricket Pavillion… is demand really that much higher for the Stones?)

Anyway, if you are a fan of Aerosmith and or the Crue (I can’t figure out how to bust out an umlaut here…) then you probably already know about their November 13th show at Cricket Pavillion. And you probably know that good seats aren’t that easy to come by. Never fear — there is always a ticket broker eager to take you money. Here are my favorite three broker sites (here, here, and here). Between them it seems like they have all the bases covered — inventory, pricing, and even letting you sell tickets if you want.

So bust out that black hesher shirt you wore in high school and let your hair grow out — the concert is coming soon.

And for you reading pleasure, here is some Aerosmith trivia from their wiki:

Aerosmith is a prominent American rock band often regarded as “America’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band”. Although they are known as the bad boys from Boston , none of the members are actually from the city. Three of the members, Steven Tallarico (Tyler), Joe Perry, and Tom Hamilton had originally met in Sunapee, New Hampshire in the late ’60s, but had not yet formed a band together. Tyler was from Yonkers, New York, Perry from Hopedale, Massachusetts, and Hamilton from New London, New Hampshire. In 1970, the three decided to form a band and that Boston, Massachusetts would be the ideal venue. (more…)

Yeah yeah, we all hear he claims to be bringing sexy back. (Did you even realize sexy left??) The question is he bringing back to Phoenix with his upcoming tour. [Update: Yup he's coming to Glendale Arena (now Jobing.com (pronounced Jobbing.com) Arena) on January 14 -- Pink is opening.] Here are the best after market places to hunt for some tickets:

We Have Seats has low-ish prices with tickets ranging from $95 to about $500
Stubhub has tickets between $129-436.
TicketsNow may get some tickets in.

And now for your viewing pleasure (?) here is a picture of Mr. Sexyback with his head shaved. (I have to admit that this is better than the Ronald McDonald style he used sport…)

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The best thing about getting older is that making money seems to get a little easier. The Rolling Stones have capitalized on that fact as their Baby Boomer core fanbase has come in to a lot of money as they reach their 40s and 50s. That means that Rolling Stones concert tickets ain’t cheap and they ain’t easy to come by either.

But having said that — come on! It’s the Rolling Stones! True legends and pioneers of rock and roll. Peers of the Beatles. What’s not to love?

Their show is one of the few true stadium shows in Phoenix this year and will be at Cardinal Stadium on November 8th. Not surprisingly decent tickets are hard to come by so here are the sources I recommend you check out for seats. These guys are usually the cheapest; these guys have a huge inventory; and these guys have excellent inventory and let you sell as well as buy tickets.
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Stand-up comedian Carlos Mencia (no, not Mensia) is scheduled to do a show in Phoenix at the end of the year (Dec. 30 at the Dodge theater — see here and here too). In the last few years his popularity has soared due in large part to his Comedy Central show Mind of Mencia. His biography on his wiki says this:

Ned Arnel Mencia (October 22, 1967), better known by the stage name Carlos Mencia, is an American comedian, writer, and actor. He is currently the host of his own show on Comedy Central, Mind of Mencia. He was born seventeen of eighteen children in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. His father, Roberto Holness, is from Honduras, and his mother, Magdelana Mencia, is from Mexico. He was raised in East Los Angeles, California by his aunt Consuelo and uncle Pablo Mencia, going by the name Ned Holness in honor of his father. By his own admission, staying out of trouble was difficult growing up, but with the help of his family he excelled in school and stayed out of gangs. He majored in electrical engineering at California State University, Los Angeles but left early to pursue a career in comedy after a successful performance at open mic night at The Laugh Factory.

Decent tickets are going to be hard to come by so try my favorite after market vendors here, here, or here if you can’t get the seats you want from TicketMaster.

Also, if you don’t feel like waiting until December Tucson is only a couple of hours down the freeway and Mencia has a show there in October. See here and here for tickets to that one.

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There is hardly a better place to be mid-winter than Phoenix Arizona. Sure we locals pay a price for living here from May through September but October through April tend to be jussssst riiiight. And one of the great annual events here in Phoenix every winter is the Phoenix Open out in Scottsdale.

Getting tickets to the event isn’t always all that easy though. But when tickets run out there always are a few brokers will to sell you some tickets at a markup. Of course not all ticket brokers are created equal so here are my three favorite places top look for these sorts of tickets. These guys tend to have the best prices (but not always the best inventory). These guys usually have a great inventory (but not always best prices). And these guys often have tickets that neither of the other two have along with letting you sell unneeded tickets through their system. I recommend you check them all out.

Now for your trivial pusuit pleasure here is some largely useless trivia about the Phoenix Open (actually called the FBR Open) from its wiki:

The FBR Open is a nationally televised golf tournament, a part of the PGA Tour, held at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) of Scottsdale, Arizona around the last weekend in January. The tournament was originally the Arizona Open, but was known for most of its history as the Phoenix Open until the investment bank, Friedman Billings Ramsey, became the title sponsor in October 2003.

The Phoenix Open began in 1932 but was discontinued after the 1935 tournament. The rebirth of the Phoenix Open came in 1939 when the vision of a dedicated golfer, Bob Goldwater Sr. convinced fellow Thunderbirds into running the event. The Thunderbirds were not enthusiastic about running the event as he was as he did most of the work in getting a golf open started. The event was played at Phoenix Country Club in Phoenix, Arizona, both in its earlier incarnations and after Goldwater resuscitated it. Beginning in 1955, The Arizona Country Club (also in Phoenix) alternated as event host with Phoenix Country Club; this arrangement lasted until Phoenix Country Club took The Arizona Country Club’s turn in 1975 and became the event’s permanent home again. In 1987 the tournament was moved to the TPC of Scottsdale’s Stadium Course.

In 1939 the total payout was $3000 and has increased dramatically with $4,000,000 being the total payout now. The winner of the tournament receives $720,000 of that money (i.e., 18% of the purse, the standard winner’s share on the PGA Tour). The reigning champion (2006) is J.B. Holmes. Other well-known winners in recent years included Phil Mickelson in 2005 and 1996, Vijay Singh in 2003 and 1995, Chris DiMarco in 2002, and Mark Calcavecchia in 2001, 1992, and 1989.

The 4-day attendance of the tournament is usually around 500,000. The most popular hole for spectators to watch is the 16th hole due to the “Amphitheatre” atmosphere of the hole, created by the stands erected every year before the tournament. The hole could be described as “one big party”, with many students from the nearby Arizona State University. Poor shots at the 16th hole receive boos, because the hole is very easy by the PGA’s standards. Good shots, however, are cheered for loudly. Famous moments at the 16th include Tiger Woods’ hole-in-one in 1997, which caused the gallery to erupt, throwing cups and other objects in celebration, and Justin Leonard giving the finger to the gallery after a poor shot. The most popular golfer at FBR is unquestionably Phil Mickelson, an Arizona State alum. In addition to the golf, there is a concert/party held in the Scottsdale area called the Birds Nest, in which music artists like Huey Lewis and the News play.

The FBR Open is the opportunity to see the best golfers in this nationally televised event that gives the City of Scottsdale more name recognition across the U.S.

This is the best attended golf tournament of every calendar year, and in 2006 the FBR Open set a PGA Tour single day attendance record with over 168,000 fans in attendance on Saturday, Feb. 4, as well as a tournament week attendance record of 536,367 fans.

Now then — don’t you feel enriched?

This is the year! This is the year the Cards won’t suck! (Or maybe not…)

Ok, now that we have that established the next trick is getting your hands on tickets to see the Arizona Cardinals in their shiny new stadium. Tickets sell out fast but the ticket brokers almost always seem to have seats anyway. I like We Have Seats for the best prices; TicketsNow for solid inventory; and StubHub for unique seats and the ability to buy and sell.

Anyway, feast on these Cardinal trivia points while you hunt for seats (from the wiki):

New stadium, new attitude (2006)

In 2000, Maricopa County voters passed a ballot initiative by a margin of 51% to 49%, providing funding for a new Cardinals stadium (as well as for improvements to Major League Baseball spring training facilities in the greater Phoenix region; and youth recreation). After some legal obstacles, the Cardinals began construction of their new facility in April 2003, in Glendale, one of the northwest suburbs of Phoenix. Cardinals Stadium features a retractable roof and a slide-out grass surface, which is good for the hot desert weather; the new stadium has a state-of-the-art air conditioning system and high-back seats.

Although no one in the organization admits it publicly, Sun Devil Stadium has widely been blamed for the Cardinals’ woes in their 18-year stay in Arizona. The Cardinals had no control of parking revenue or other streams of income available to most teams.

The 63,500-seat stadium (expandable to 72,800) opened on August 12, 2006 when the Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-13, in a preseason game. The first regular season game is set for September 10 against the San Francisco 49ers, the first time the Cardinals will play on the opening weekend of the NFL season at home since moving to Arizona in 1988. In 2008, the stadium will host Super Bowl XLII.

It does appear that the future may turn brighter for the team. On Sunday, March 12, 2006, the Cardinals acquired former Colts RB Edgerrin James through free agency, by signing him to a four-year, $30 million contract.

Additionally, on Saturday, April 30, 2006, the Cardinals drafted the 2004 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Matt Leinart with the 10th pick of the NFL Draft. Leinart played for the University of Southern California and won 1 1/2 national championships with the team in 2004.

Leinart missed the first two weeks of the 2006 Cardinals training camp (and the opening game of the preseason) due to prolonged contract negotiations, but on August 15, the Arizona Republic, KTAR radio and ESPN reported that Leinart agreed to a six-year contract that could earn him a maximum of $51 million, according to his agent, Tom Condon. The contract reportedly contains $14 million in guaranteed money, and likely involves “escalator” clauses that could increase Leinart’s salary in the later years of the deal should he meet certain playing-time incentives.

Also in the 2006 draft, the Cardinals would select another USC alum, Guard Taitusi “Deuce” Latui in the 3rd round, followed by Georgia TE Leonard Pope, Michigan DT Gabriel Watson, Louisville LB Brandon Johnson, Virginia Tech DT Jonathan Lewis, and Brigham Young WR Todd Watkins. This as well as the dynamic duo that is Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald at WR could make the Cardinals a serious threat in the NFC West.

Let’s hope that the new players, new stadium, and new season make for a big season!

Phoenix isn’t a little city anymore and as a result we aren’t stuck with little concerts or little venues anymore either. There are all sorts of great venues to see concerts in Phoenix and there are even ways to get your hands on tickets when the box office is sold out. Here are some venues and resources.

Glendale Arena - For big honkin’ concerts there is Glendale Arena. Many of the biggest most popular artists play here… mostly because they can I guess. The wiki for Glendale Arena says:

Glendale Arena is an arena located in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. It is home to the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL and the Arizona Sting of the NLL. Completed in 2003, the arena cost $180 million. It seats 17,500 for hockey and lacrosse. Glendale Arena sits across the street from Cardinals Stadium, which is also a brand new sporting complex in Arizona.

For the upcoming event at Glendale arena see here, here, or here.

Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum - An older and slightly smaller version of Glendale arena. It’s wiki says:

The Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a 14,870-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Phoenix, Arizona, located on the grounds of the Arizona State Fair. It is commonly referred to as simply the Coliseum.

This place hosts some big concerts too.

US Airways Center - The other big honkin’ place in town. It’s big enough for the Suns so it is big enough for most any concert.

Cardinal Stadium - The honkin’est of the honkin’ venues in town. Unless you’re looking to see the Rolling Stones you won’t see many concerts here. It’s mostly an NFL stadium.

Phoenix Symphony Hall - This hosts, you know, groups like the symphony, various, operas, ballets, etc.

Mesa Amphiptheatre - Always good place for a show.

Dodge Theater - Air conditioned! Hosts loads of medium sized concerts throughout the year.

Marquee Theatre - Loads of good rock acts come through here.

Cricket Pavilion - Loads of cool rock acts make appearances here too.

The Cricket Pavilion is an amphitheater located in Phoenix, Arizona USA which seats 8,000 under a pavilion roof and an additional 12,000 on a spacious hillside behind the main stands. It was formerly known as Desert Sky Pavilion. With a total capacity of 20,000, Cricket Pavilion’s capacity is higher than US Airways Center and Glendale Arena, the Phoenix area’s two largest arenas. The amphitheater’s season starts in April and closes in October. The lawn at the amphitheater contains several video screens.

Gammage Auditorium - Gammage is where all of the off-Broadway productions come to in town. It’s on the ASU campus.

A bunch more - Ok I’m tired of writing so check out the rest yourself. Happy hunting!

Link Partners:

Phoenix Landscape and Concrete - Phoenix Landscape and concrete contractor
Phoenixtheatre.com
Theater in my Basement - A Phoenix-based experimental performance group
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Is it just me or are the Phoenix Suns the most entertaining team in the NBA? Ok, it can’t be just me — the Suns are more fun than… ummm… any other NBA team… Anyway the problem with Steve Nash and Amare and Matrix and crew all being so entertaining is that it has become increasingly hard to get your hands on decent tickets to the games. There are usually some nose bleeders available with enough notice but to get good seats one often needs to turn to the ticket brokers (or have a buddy who can’t use his season tickets that night I guess.)

If you do need to buy some tickets these guys usually have the least expensive aftermarket prices. They are generally $5-20 cheaper per ticket than the other brokers. If you are that person with tickets you are looking to unload these guys allow you to buy or sell tickets online so they sometimes have seats that no one else has. Finally this outfit seems to usually have the biggest overall inventory.

If you are unfamiliar with America West Arena, be sure to get there with some time to pare and be prepared to spend $15-20 on parking if you want to park near the arena.

Also, show up wearing orange or purple. I don’t care what your home town is — you live in Phoenix now so love it! (Ok… that last part is optional I guess.)

BTW — here is the roster as of late summer 06:

PG 2 Marcus Banks (UNLV)
G 10 Leandro Barbosa (Brazil)
SG 19 Raja Bell (Florida International)
C 11 Pat Burke (Auburn)
G/F/C 3 Boris Diaw (France)
SF 22 James Jones (Miami (FL))
F 20 Jumaine Jones (Georgia)
F/C 4 Sean Marks (Cal)
SF 31 Shawn Marion Co-captain (UNLV)
PG 13 Steve Nash - Captain (Santa Clara)
SG 52 Eric Piatkowski (Nebraska)
C 1 Amaré Stoudemire (Cypress Creek HS,Orlando, Florida)
PF 40 Kurt Thomas (TCU)

Go Suns!

Ahhhh — there’s nothing more refreshing than coming in from a 115 degree parking lot to see a ice hockey game! And that’s what you often get here in Phoenix when you’re a Coyotes fan. The Coyotes are always a fun time even if tickets are sometimes hard to come by. The Phoenix Coyotes wiki says this:

The Coyotes were a hot ticket in Phoenix in the late ’90s, and had superb attendance. However, America West Arena soon proved to be an inadequate location for an NHL team. Several seats were obstructed because the arena’s floor was not designed with a hockey rink in mind, unlike most modern arenas. Seating capacity had to be cut down to 16,000 — the second-smallest in the league at the time — after the first season. Even then, a stretch of the upper deck that actually hung over the ice, obstructing the views of around 3,000 spectators. Some fans even claimed that they saw where the concrete had been sheared off to create retractable seats for hockey. After attempts failed either to renovate America West or build an arena in Scottsdale, the Coyotes built Glendale Arena, which they moved into in 2003. Simultaneously, the Coyotes changed their logo and uniforms, heeding to hockey purists, but disappointing many Coyotes fans.

If you are looking for Coyotes tickets and are having any trouble getting the seats you want from the box office here are the aftermarket sources I’ve discovered that seem to be the best bet:

- These guys have a solid inventory and usually the best prices for brokers
- These guys always have lots of tickets and let you sell as well as buy.
- These guys often have the biggest selection of Phoenix Coyotes tickets.

Who knows, maybe this is the year Coach Gretzky and the Coyotes break through and win the West. It’s bound to happen some time right?

This is the year! This is the year the Cards won’t suck! (Or maybe not…)

Ok, now that we have that established the next trick is getting your hands on tickets to see the Arizona Cardinals in their shiny new stadium. Tickets sell out fast but the ticket brokers almost always seem to have seats anyway. I like these guys for the best prices; these guys for best inventory; and these guys for unique seats and the ability to buy and sell.

Anyway, feast on these Cardinal trivia points while you hunt for seats (from the wiki):

The Cardinals are the oldest existing professional American football club in the United States. The team was formed in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago, Illinois. The club was then called the Racine Normals since they were originally located on Racine Avenue (not Racine, Wisconsin, as mistaken by many) but moved to Chicago’s Normal Field. They then changed their name to the Racine Cardinals after they started wearing cardinal-red uniforms.

After becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920, the club was renamed the Chicago Cardinals. The Cardinals moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1960, becoming the St. Louis Cardinals, before relocating to the Phoenix area in 1988. The team was known as the Phoenix Cardinals before it started using “Arizona” in its name in 1994.

Despite moving to St. Louis and then to Arizona, the Cardinals had always remained in either an Eastern conference or division. When the league was divided into Eastern and Western conferences prior to the 1953 season, the Cardinals were placed in the East while the Chicago Bears were placed in the West. After the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger, the team was placed in the NFC East. The Cardinals were finally moved to the NFC West as part of the 2002 realignment.

The Cardinals have historically been known as a chronic loser. They were NFL Champions in 1925 and 1947. However, the team has not won a league title since then, and thus currently holds the NFL record for the longest championship drought. The team has also won only two division titles (1974 and 1975) since their 1947 NFL championship. Despite being the oldest existing professional football franchise in the United States, the Cardinals have an all-time postseason record of 2-5 (not counting the 1964 Bert Bell Benefit Bowl).

The oldest club in the NFL?? Who knew? (Yeah we already knew about the chronic loser rep… that changes this year though, baby!)