Location
About Tempe
Tempe Arizona is the cultural and technical center of the Phoenix metropolitan area in central Arizona, USA. Tempe is easily accessible and the location's climate guarantees a beautiful FUDcon with highs in the 60s and 70s throughout most of the winter. Tempe's vibrant Mill Avenue boasts countless shops, restaurants and other venues for entertainment. Tempe is easily accessible via interstate or flying in to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Tempe is also home to one of the largest Universities in the United States, Arizona State University, providing us with the chance to reach many new users and contributors.
Reference Links
- City of Tempe
- Tempe Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Mill Avenue - Main thoroughfare in Tempe
- Arizona State University
- Phoenix Wikipedia page
- Tempe Wikipedia page
Major Local Airports
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (Airport Code: PHX) is the major airport servicing the greater Phoenix Metro area.
The following airlines have flights going in / coming out of Sky Harbor:
- Terminal 2:
- Alaska
- Continental
- Great Lakes
- United / TED
- Terminal 3:
- AirTran
- American
- Delta
- Frontier
- Hawaiian
- JetBlue
- Midwest
- Sun Country
- Terminal 4 (Terminal 4 is also the International Terminal for Sky Harbor):
- Aeromexico
- Air Canada
- British Airways
- Southwest
- US Airways / America West
- US Airways / America West Express (Mesa Airlines)
- Westjet
Local Mass Transit
Tempe is served by the Phoenix Metro Light Rail, and also has local bus lines.
Light Rail
Valley METRO Light Rail. The Light Rail provides transportation from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to downtown Tempe.
- The Light Rail is available to take from the airport to downtown Tempe. The stop at Mill Avenue and Third Street is two very short blocks from the proposed hotel for FUDCon, Tempe Mission Palms.
- To access the Light Rail from the airport, one must take the Phoenix Airport Shuttle from their terminal to the Light Rail station at 44th Street and Washington. Detailed directions are located here.
- A one-ride pass for the light rail is $1.75; a full-day pass for the light rail and city buses is $3.50. 5-packs of full-day passes can be purchased online, in advance, for $17.50, and should be received within 5-7 days.
Local Restaurants
Many of the local restaurants, as well as other entertainment / shopping, can be found on the Mill Avenue website.
The following restaurants are within walking distance of both hotels being considered.
- Rula Bula Irish Pub and Restaurant.
- 401 S. Mill Avenue, Tempe, AZ 8281
- 480-929-9500
- Dunkin Donuts
- Caffe Boa
- Gordon Biersch
- Starbucks
- Fatburger
Hotel
Two hotels currently with requests for information:
- Courtyard Marriott Downtown Tempe
- 601 S. Ash Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281
- 480-966-2800
- Tempe Mission Palms
- 60 E. 5th St. Tempe, AZ 85281
- 480-894-1400
- Fiesta Resort Conference Center
- 2100 South Priest Drive Tempe, AZ 85282
- 480-967-1441
- Hilton Phoenix Chandler
- 2929 W Frye Road, Chandler, Arizona, United States 85224
- 480-899-7400
Courtyard Marriott Details
Location: Courtyard Marriott Downtown Tempe 601 S. Ash Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: (480)966-2800
Estimated Hotel Costs
Room Capacities and Configuration
Internet Capabilities
Tempe Mission Palms Details
Location: Tempe Mission Palms 60 E. 5th St. Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: (480)894-1400
Estimated Hotel Costs
Room Capacities and Configuration
Internet Capabilities
Alternate Venues for Meeting (not in a hotel
Brickyard on Mill Avenue
- Brickyard on Mill
- Building for School of Arts, Media + Engineering - may have meeting space
- 699 S. Mill Ave.
- Tempe, AZ 85281
ASU Memorial Union
- ASU Memorial Union
- Meetings and Events Services
- ASU Memorial Union Meetings and Events Services information and rate sheet
Availability
ASU Memorial Union is available for non-university-affiliated events during the following time periods (that are applicable to FUDCon):
- Last 2 weeks of December
- First 2 weeks of January
- ANY Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday
Room Spaces and Costs
ASU charges for space in the MU based upon a tiered system which is partially based on what affiliation, if any you have with the university.
FUDCon would possibly qualify as a Category II, if we can procure University sponsorship from a department, or Category III (None-university related event). I don't know if Cat. II requires us to have a certain percentage of students vs. non-students; this is something to look into.
There are ~25 rooms available on the second floor of the Memorial Union, ranging in size from 16 occupants to 575 occupants. Here are some examples of pricing:
Yuma - Occupancy 25 - Category II, $140; Category III, $300. Turquoise Ballroom - Occupancy 180-249 - Category II, $500; Category III, $1600 Pima Auditorium - Occupancy 150 - Category II, $260; Category III, $800 Mohave - Occupancy 66 - Category II, $180; Category III, $600 Gold - Occupancy 80 - Category II, $180; Category III, $600
Additionally, the first floor of the MU has a place called "Sparky's Den" - 8 bowling lanes, 15 billiards tables, and video games. It can be reserved - costs are not detailed on the website. Alcohol permits can also be obtained.
Food and Catering
The MU has an in house catering service. Please see MU's Catering information for more details. Food may also be purchased from any of the dining venues IN the MU or from Domino's Pizza for events held in the MU.
Memorial Union Restaurants include:
- Zoca! Mexican
- Papa John's Pizza
- Extreme Pita
- Jump Asian
- Chick-fil-a
- Taco Bell
- Starbucks
- Einstein Bagels
- Cold Stone Creamery
- Union Market
- Burger King
- Quizno's Subs
- Jamba Juice
Shirts!
Brand X has a tee-shirt shop / printing place in the Memorial Union, as well as off-campus. This would be cool for those who want to get shirts but didn't sign up in time, etc. We could drop off the official logo / etc for them to have available to make shirts for whomever.
Transportation to Event
Flight estimates from kayak.com by Mel Chua 04:51, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
Costs from BOS (Boston, MA)
- Thursday, December 2 - Wednesday, December 8 = $232 as of 4/13
- Thursday, January 13 - Wednesday, January 19 = $229 as of 4/13
Costs from RDU (Raleigh, NC)
- Thursday, December 2 - Wednesday, December 8 = $232 as of 4/13
- Thursday, January 13 - Wednesday, January 19 = $232 as of 4/13
Costs from ORD (Chicago, IL)
- Thursday, December 2 - Wednesday, December 8 = $313 as of 4/13
- Thursday, January 13 - Wednesday, January 19 = $313 as of 4/13
Costs from LAX (Los Angeles, CA)
- Thursday, December 2 - Wednesday, December 8 = $124 as of 4/13
- Thursday, January 13 - Wednesday, January 19 = $124 as of 4/13
Costs from JFK (New York, NY)
- Thursday, December 2 - Wednesday, December 8 = $301 as of 4/13
- Thursday, January 13 - Wednesday, January 19 = $301 as of 4/13
Costs from LHR (London, UK)
- Thursday, December 2 - Thursday, December 9 = $758 as of 4/15
- Thursday, January 13 - Thursday, January 20 = $758 as of 4/15
There's no return flight on Wednesdays, hence Thursday was checked.