This Saturday is going to be a HUGE ridership day for our friends at METRO light rail and it is sure to be one of the most exciting days in their 5 year history. Tens of thousands of people will board the trains heading to the Tempe Festival of the Arts during the day and the Pac-12 championship game in the evening. Game time is 5:45pm.
It sounds like they’ll be ready.
Metro is adding light-rail trains and making trains longer to accommodate fans going to and leaving the game.
Before 1 p.m., there will be the usual two-car trains running on a regular Saturday schedule at 15-minute intervals. After 1 p.m., the trains will be three cars every 15 minutes.
After 3 p.m., Metro will add three shuttle trains between Sun Devil Stadium and Sycamore Station in Mesa.
“We are putting out all we’ve got,” Metro spokeswoman Hillary Foose said. “We are expecting a busy day. It’s one of those days where we will be consistently busy all day.”
While there is parking in the Mill Avenue District, the traffic is sure to be heavy. People are being encouraged to ride the light rail to the game and to the arts festival.
Park and Ride lots are FREE and an all day light rail pass is just $4.00. You can purchase your light rail pass at any light rail station.
If you are coming from out of town, take the Sky Train from the airport to the light rail station at 44th street for FREE. Heck, if you are just coming for the game, you don’t need a car, you can find anything you’ll need along the light rail line. Here’s a list of some of the hotels along the line for you to try.
If you are local, it sounds like they will be running a very high number of trains to the east of the stadium where you will find 4 different park and ride lots. This section of our light rail map shows the stations from Mill Avenue to the eastern end of the line in Mesa. The Price and Apache station is right off of the freeway and is a very large lot, it might be your most convenient station and Park and Ride lot. You can click on the map to see all of the other stations and park and ride lots, as well.
View Phoenix Valley METRO Light Rail Map in a larger map
Combine the two events for a great day! Jump on the light rail early in the day, check out the Arts Festival, grab a bite to eat in or around the Mill Avenue District and then head to the game. Seriously, that is tough to beat.
The atmosphere in Tempe is certainly electric and we are all pumped for the game. I’m sure Stanford travels well and they’ll be sending fans to our “neutral site” to see the Pac-12 Championship. Stanford fans, I promise to be civil and trust you will be, as well. Just bring your check books and spend some money in our town. Bars will be open late to drown your sorrows. I’m sure you’ll love our town, let us know if you decide to stay for a while…
Go Devils!!
Hi Nick, there is light rail west of Tempe – really. Lots of stuff going on at our end of the line too.
Thanks Jo. I understand but there is only so much time in a day. For years, I tried to cover the line as best I could but I have a business to run and I need to pay my bills. I love this blog and I love the lifestyle of living along the entire line. I wish I had more time to write about all of the things happening along the entire line but I do not. If you’d like to write about things that I am not covering, I’d be more than happy to publish them.