Greater Phoenix CVB Honors City of Phoenix, Suns Execs

PHOENIX, May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Visionaries look beyond the
challenges of today to capture the promise of tomorrow. On May 27, the Greater
Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau will recognize the City of Phoenix and
Phoenix Suns officials for their visionary contributions to Arizona's economy:
completing two key downtown developments and attracting a national sports
event to Phoenix in 2008-09.

The Visitor Industry Champion Awards will honor the recipients for their roles
in completing the 569,000-square-foot addition to the Phoenix Convention
Center and the 1,000-room Downtown Sheraton Hotel, and for their efforts to
bring the NBA All-Star Game to Phoenix in 2009.

The award ceremony will take place during the GPCVB's annual meeting from 4:30
to 6:30 p.m. at the convention center. The meeting will feature local wines
provided by the Arizona Wine Growers Association and cuisine from Aventura
Catering.

"Our honorees recognized the long-term value of these investments in our
economy," said Greater Phoenix CVB President and CEO Steve Moore. "We are
lucky to have leaders in the Valley who understand the importance that the
visitors industry has, and will have in the future, as an economic engine
pulling the economy forward. Our industry and the entire community is indebted
to them for their commitments."

Mayor Phil Gordon, City Manager Frank Fairbanks, Deputy City Manager David
Krietor and the members of the City Council will accept an award for the City
of Phoenix, recognizing their work on the Phoenix Convention Center and the
Sheraton.

Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, CEO Rick Welts and Director of Public
Relations Jamie Morris Levine will join Deputy City Manager Ed Zuercher in
accepting awards for their work to attract the NBA All-Star Game and its
accompanying festivities.

The expansion of the convention center tripled its size, making it one of the
20 largest convention centers in North America and enabling Phoenix to compete
for larger national conventions. Both international and U.S. attendees have
praised the new facility as state of the art.

The Sheraton Phoenix Downtown, located a block from the expanded convention
center, added much-needed downtown hotel rooms to attract larger conventions.
The timing of its opening, to complement the convention center's expansion,
showed that "our city leaders 'get it,'" Moore said.

"They knew that to be successful we needed not only the additional meeting
space but additional hotel rooms to accommodate the increase in convention
attendees, and they made it happen," he explained.

Moore said the Phoenix Suns' leaders worked with city officials to bring the
NBA All-Star events to Phoenix in February, providing Phoenix a "much-needed
economic boost in this difficult economic time." The event brought more than
$35 million in direct spending to the local economy and attracted thousands of
people to downtown Phoenix.

The Greater Phoenix CVB is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to
marketing metropolitan Phoenix as a visitor destination. The CVB's annual
meeting provides its stakeholders a forum to discuss industry trends and
challenges, network with peers, and celebrate the attributes that make Greater
Phoenix one of the top vacation and meetings destinations in the nation.

Sponsors of the 2009 Greater Phoenix CVB Annual Meeting include Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Arizona, the Phoenix Convention Center, E B. Lane, Madden
Media, Southwest Airlines, Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa, Aventura, The
Arizona Republic, Bryan Cave and Ollie the Trolley. Ticket information can be
found at www.visitphoenix.com/annualmeeting.

SOURCE Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau

Douglas MacKenzie, Communications Director of Greater Phoenix CVB,
+1-602-452-6250, dmackenzie@visitphoenix.com