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| - Westgate survives as a bar and restaurant district not because of the 41 nights a year the Coyotes play at Jobing.com Arena, but because this is the only place to hang out west of Central. Virtually every retailer at Westgate has closed up shop, and the only businesses that survive are bars and restaurants that generate most of their profit from alcohol sales. Tanger Outlets is just another ho-hum outlet mall, and with 4 outlet malls now competing in the Phoenix area, Tanger's long term success is less than assured.
I usually visit Westgate early in the evening, taking advantage of the happy hour deals at Yardhouse, in fact Yardhouse is the only Establishment in Westgate City Center that I have actually dined at. That may change when Buffalo Wild Wings opens. When I consider staying later into the evening, I notice some of the clientele and am reminded that Desert Sky is only 4 miles away.
Another glaring example of Westgate's early decline is the content of Steve Ellman's billboards. The area could be a Times Square west if the content of the billboards was luxury electronics, cars, cosmetics etc. The sad reality is that half the billboards are for Gila River Casinos, and even the exact price of cremation is advertised on one of the billboards.
The new lease agreement for the Coyotes includes a minimum $15 parking fee at Westgate during events at Jobing.com Arena. The impact of this charge on Westgate's price sensitive clientele will probably be substantial, along with the amount of traffic at Westgate, and may force out several marginal businesses. I haven't seen any details of how and where the parking fees will be collected, so I will update this review once the parking fees go into effect.
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