Plan Your Meetings

Want to walk on the wild side?

Located on the ancient Tribal lands of the Gila River Indian Community, the Wild Horse Pass development is Chandler’s crown jewel. In addition to its Sonoran Desert views and mountain vistas, it has many activities for meeting planners, such as Rawhide, a replica 1880s frontier town with Wild West excitement, live entertainment, unique retail shops and the Rawhide Steakhouse. Rawhide accommodates groups up to 10,000, and in addition to its 52,000 square feet of indoor banquet space, events also can be staged outdoors along “Main Street,” which has eight different venues. Two convention center hotels also are on the property. The upscale Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino has meeting space for groups of 12 to 890, multiple dining and nightlife venues, a Vegas-style casino, a 1,400-seat theater and 242 hotel rooms. Groups meeting on the property also have access to community amenities like the 36-hole Whirlwind Golf Club, an equestrian center, restaurants, boat cruises and the Native American-themed Aji spa. The AAA Four Diamond, 500-room Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa offers 100,000 square feet of function space. The entire resort was designed to represent the heritage and culture of the Gila River Indians.

Want to put your group on the fast track?

Get things going at the Firebird International Raceway, where racetracks can be rented out for high-speed activities. Or, meet trackside in one of several spaces that accommodate groups of varying sizes. Choose from the suite towers, such as the Tower Conference Center and the Gila River Casinos Tower, or one of the palm tree-flanked outdoor pavilions. There’s also kitchen space for catering. Adjacent to Firebird is the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. The 3,200-sq. ft. Bondurant Museum room can hold up to 300 people for a fast-paced meeting experience. Several breakout rooms accommodate groups of 15-30; audio/visual equipment and on-site catering is available. When the meeting’s over, head to the tracks for a customized team-building activity, featuring a fleet of over 200 performance vehicles.

Want diverse group outings?

Take your group on a walking tour of downtown Chandler. Since 2000, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but there’s plenty dining, eclectic art galleries and trendy boutiques to keep everyone moving forward. While downtown, stop by the Chandler Museum to see what life in the early days was like, while learning about the first inhabitants of the Sonoran Desert — the Hohokam people (and their mysterious disappearance in 1450 A.D.). At the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium in Litchfield Park, check out Arizona’s largest exotic animal collection. Take the African Safari Train through the homes of endangered antelope, gazelles, ostriches and more, or get aboard the Australian Boat Ride to see the red and gray kangaroos, the flightless emu, albino wallabies and the laughing kookaburra.

Want to surround your group with culture?

The Chandler Center for the Arts is a performing arts venue with a turntable-divisible auditorium, which allows three events to take place at once. Two sections of rear seating in the main theater rotate 180 degrees to face two smaller stages. The theater seats 1,550, and the walls move with the seating areas to prevent sound interference. There’s also a 2,000-sq. ft. exhibition hall, pre-function foyer area and an onsite catering facility. At the Vision Gallery, groups can tour the works of over 300 local and national artists in the Historic Downtown area. Many exhibits rotate in and out of the gallery, including Dias de los Muertos or Day of the Dead, a collection of work celebrating the Spanish holiday. Immerse your group in the traditions of the land at the Huhugam Heritage Center. Guides, exhibits and classes add emphasis to the collections on display about the history, culture and language of the Gila River Indian Community. Labs and multipurpose rooms also are available for small groups.

Want creative venues?

Started by a cancer survivor who was instructed by a doctor to drink more green tea, the Urban Tea Loft is an eatery/retail space with a soothing ambiance, sleek décor and a seating area with leather-upholstered walls. The facility offers small groups two “metropolitan chic” private rooms or run of the entire loft. Internet access and audio/visual equipment also is available. Inspirador, the Spanish word for inspiring, has multiple spaces for meetings and events including a courtyard with a fireplace and an art gallery. The upscale setting easily accommodates both daytime meetings and evening soirees for up 250 guests.

Want to meet in a place with history?

In 1913, Dr. Alexander John Chandler, the city’s founder, opened the luxurious San Marcos Hotel, now the San Marcos Golf Resort and Conference Center. It became one of the first winter destination resorts in the country, attracting luminaries and dignitaries, such as President Herbert Hoover, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Christian Dior. The 295-room resort has 35,000 square feet of meeting space. A block away is the Historic Downtown district.