The newly expanded Phoenix Convention Center recently hosted the second-largest convention in its history, the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau announced this month: the 2011 General Council of the Assemblies of God, which took place Aug. 2-5 in downtown Phoenix.
The Assemblies of God — one of the largest Pentecostal groups in the world, with more than 64 million members, including 3 million in the United States — attracted more than 30,000 attendees who were expected to inject more than $43 million worth of direct spending into the regional economy. For the Phoenix Convention Center, the meeting was second in size only to the National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meeting & Exhibits, which had an attendance of 64,000 in 2009.
A meeting so large is unusual for Phoenix at this time of year, according to the Greater Phoenix CVB, which said the mid-summer gathering was reminiscent of mid-July's Major League Baseball All-Star Week.
"Unlike the MLB All-Star Game, conventions like this one aren't televised internationally and their highlights aren't replayed over and over on ESPN," said Doug MacKenzie, director of communications at the Greater Phoenix CVB. "But in terms of how it will directly impact the local economy, the Assemblies of God convention is surprisingly similar to a mega sporting event."
Other big events hosted by the Phoenix Convention Center this summer include the Southern Baptist Convention (June 7-17), Volleyball Festival (June 22-27) and Benevolent & Protective Order of the Elks Annual Meeting (July 14-22). Together with the General Council of the Assemblies of God, these four conventions are responsible for generating approximately $100 million in direct spending for metropolitan Phoenix.
"The Assemblies of God group caps our biggest summer for convention business since the opening of the new Phoenix Convention Center [in 2009]," MacKenzie said. "Which means it's our biggest summer ever, because before the convention center expanded Phoenix couldn't attract groups this big."