PHOENIX — The WNBA All-Star Game and festivities were a thrill for the thousands of people in attendance. Fans came to see their favorite players and cheer on their favorite team, the WNBA All-Stars and/or Team USA, but for some, the real winners were the businesses and restaurants downtown.
"We saw A'ja Wilson like an hour and a half ago and I'm still shaking," Nicole White said.
White and her friend Christin Pearson came to Phoenix specifically for the All-Star experience. They say the trip has been exciting for many different reasons.
"The opportunity to come and meet different people," White said. "Local people who welcome you and you get to check out local restaurants. I'm trying everything local."
"I love the community, the people are awesome they're very friendly," Pearson said.
White and Pearson are just two of more than 16,000 people who attended Saturday's game. They say their time downtown has been one to remember. Their goal was to enjoy everything Phoenix had to offer.
"Phoenix welcomed us well," Pearson said.
"Everyone is here to celebrate the same thing," White said. "There's no rivalry, we're here together to celebrate the W."
With large crowds downtown, restaurants, like Dog Haus, were busy with a non-stop flow of customers.
"A lot of people in town," Christopher Osborne said. "A lot of hotels, we heard, are booked up and things like that so we're definitely expecting the increase."
Osborne is the General Manager at Dog Haus. The restaurant re-opened its doors two months ago after a change in ownership. Osborne says when they learned the WNBA All-Star game was coming to town, he knew it was a big deal.
"It gets to show us off and see what we have to offer and what downtown Phoenix has," he said. "It's a huge deal to have everyone come in. It feels good, it's great to see, everyone's coming in and they're happy."
Owner of The Kettle Black and The Desmond Spirits and Oven, Harrison St. Pierre, says the number of large events happening downtown lately has been huge.
"Even since COVID," he said. "Having the Suns be in the finals, having the Diamondbacks being in the World Series, having the All-Star game here, it's just so exciting to have so many more big events that bring people here."
Especially this time of year.
"It's a massive impact," he said. "Summer is a super slow season for us so events like this help every business survive. Not just us, like every business, the little stores, the grocery store over here, the bars, the restaurants, everyone survives off this."
As for those visiting, the food, the people and the festivities have all been a win.
"So what does that mean?" asked White. "I'm coming right back. It doesn't have to be for an All-Star game, I'm coming back to Phoenix next year. I'll just come in January or February."
12News reached out to the City of Phoenix and they say right now it's just too soon to tell how much of an economic impact this event will have for the area. This year's event though was much larger than the last two events from 2000 and 2014. There were more activities people could participate in and many of them were a much larger scale.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."
Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.