One of the most visited public facility, multi-use venues in the entire country is situated right here in the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s called WestWorld and it’s the home of some of the biggest national and local events in the Valley. If you’ve ever visited a major car show, horse show or a kids’ fest, you were probably experiencing the show at WestWorld.
WestWorld sits in a perfectly-situated position at the foot of the McDowell Mountains in North Scottsdale, off the 101/Bell Rd. exit. It covers 386 acres in total, with about 300,000 sq. ft available for exhibition space. It’s in this exhibition space area that event planners have full leverage to put together the layout and design for a big seasonal show.
Westworld History
Westworld is celebrating some 30 years as a horse-related venue in the Valley. It began in 1986 as a small, dedicated space to horse lovers in the North Valley called “Horseman’s Park”. The site was a place where people could ride their horses on open spaces. As its popularity grew, it was renamed HorseWorld in 1988. After expanding the roster of events to include more than horses, the site became known as WestWorld. It has been run by the City of Scottsdale since 1997, marking 20 years of operation by the City.
Current shows
Some of the more high-profile shows that occur on a yearly basis at WestWorld include the following major multi-day events:
- Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships
- Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction
- Bike Week
- International Motorcycle Show
- Goodguys Annual Southwest Nationals (hot rod show)
- Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show
- Parada del Sol Rodeo
- The City of Scottsdale’s Fourth of July celebration
- Many other local and regional corporate events
Venue Parts
Within WestWorld, the venues include:
- the 120,000 sq. ft. TNEC Equidome, which seats 3,400 people and hosts many of the horse tournaments
- There is also a TNEC North Hall (117,000 sq. ft) and South Hall (37,000 sq. ft) for a variety of indoor events
- Wendell Arena, which hosts car shows, barrel racing, and Grand Prix events
- The Monterra banquet hall hosts corporate dinners, weddings, parties and charity events
- The adjoining fields host concerts, outdoor events, and can hold some 11,000 cars
Every year, thousands of fans arrive from all over the country to attend these events, entertain clients, spend money in local restaurants and rent cars and hotel rooms nearby. It all adds up to a great economic asset for the city of Scottsdale.