Scottsdale's name comes from its 1888 founder, U.S. Army Chaplain Winfield Scott. Located just eight miles east of downtown Phoenix, it has grown from a one square mile collection of cattle ranches and citrus farms into a 185 square foot cosmopolitan resort community with over 215,080 residents and an estimated six million visitors yearly. Scottsdale's demographics include a median age of 42, with 40% of its residents over age forty five.

The city's "resort" lifestyle extends not only to the over 69 hotels and resorts located here, but also to the many housing developments and master planned communities featuring golf courses, hiking trails, tennis courts, community swimming pools and shopping, with amenities just a bike ride away. While Scottsdale is in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, it is remarkably green due to greenbelts, parks, small fishing lakes, recreational complexes and playing fields. The growing medical community includes the western campus of the Mayo Clinic, as well as Scottsdale Healthcare’s newly expanded Shea and Osborn campuses.

Scottsdale boasts incredible shopping at a multitude of beautiful complexes such as The Shops at Gainey Ranch, The Borgata, Kierland Commons and The Promenade, as well as the impressive, recently expanded mega-mall: Scottsdale Fashion Square. World Class dining opportunities abound at freestanding restaurants and within the many resorts.

Old Town Scottsdale preserves the history and western roots of the town with charming shops and eateries anchored by well loved institutions like The Sugar Bowl and The Pink Pony.

The Scottsdale Center for the Arts hosts an eclectic mix of intimate classical and modern concerts and other live performances, and the return of the one of a kind huge screen Cine Capri movie theatre in June, 2003 was a major event for longtime residents who mourned the loss of its prior incarnation.

www.scottsdalechamber.com