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Phoenix Business Journal
Push to back founders of color has Arizona connection
More than 100 entrepreneurs and investors in two dozen states — including Arizona — signed a letter asking the U.S. Senate Banking Committee to support two bills that would help boost access to capital for underrepresented startup founders.<\p> Phoenix-based Seed Spot CEO Zach Leverenz is among the signatories, who also include former TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot, Noom cofounder Saeju Jeong and Colorwave Executive Director John Roussel.<\p>
WNBA All-Star Game draws huge TV audience
ABC drew 3.44 million viewers for the WNBA All-Star Game held at Footprint Center in Phoenix on Saturday night, marking the league’s third-best viewership on record and best for any telecast since its debut season in 1997. <\p> The game, which saw Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, Chicago Sky forwrard Angel Reese and others take on Team USA led by the Phoenix Mercury's Diana Taurasi ahead of the Paris Games, is behind only a pair of games on NBC from the WNBA’s opening weekend in June 1997. The WNBA’s top audience remains its debut game, Liberty-Sparks, which drew 5.04 million viewers on NBC on June 21,1997.<\p>
Mixed-use center proposed in hot East Valley corridor
A proposed mixed-use project could add another high-profile development to an emerging East Valley intersection.<\p> Scottsdale-based Berry Riddell LLC, on behalf of property owner the Saia family, filed a pre-submittal application for a mixed-use project on nearly 20 acres on the northeast corner of Power and Elliot roads in Mesa. <\p>
Freeport-McMoRan Q2 earnings beat estimates
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) beat analysts’ earnings projections during the second quarter, but it didn’t translate into any juice on Wall Street for the Phoenix-based international mining giant. <\p> The company on Tuesday reported a 15% year-over-year revenue increase jumping to $6.624 billion from $5.737 billion in the year-earlier period. Net income attributable to common stock was $616 million, with adjusted earnings per share at 46 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents. <\p>
Builder plans active adult resort in West Valley
Known as America's Most Trusted Active Adult Resort Builder since 2013, Shea Homes is putting a new spin on its popular Trilogy Signature master-planned communities.<\p> Typically, Shea Homes builds Trilogy Signature active adult master-planned communities with at least 2,000 homes, but now the Scottsdale-based builder is unveiling a boutique active adult concept, known as Trilogy Boutique, across the country with between 250 and 550 homes.<\p>
Music festival planned for Old Town Scottsdale
The Dreamy Draw Music Festival announced July 23 the lineup for its 2024 two-day music and arts festival, which will be held Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 in Old Town Scottsdale.<\p> The Dreamy Draw Music Festival debuted in 2023 and highlights a mix of country, folk, Americana, roots and rock music. The festival is put on by Oh Wow Company, the Phoenix-based event production company that has grown the popular M3F Fest held in downtown Phoenix in recent years. Oh Wow partnered with the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts to curate a lineup and a portion of the proceeds will go to Scottsdale Arts.<\p>
NBC reveals details of NBA, WNBA media rights package
While Amazon.com Inc. and Warner Brothers Discovery potentially duke it out in court over a separate NBA media rights deal, NBCUniversal has unveiled its broadcast plan for its impending 11-year $27.5 billion package with the NBA that debuts in 2025-26.<\p> NBC's coverage will include 100 regular-season broadcasts each season between NBC and Peacock, as well as over 50 WNBA games -- including three WNBA Finals -- across NBC, Peacock and USA Network. The WNBA just wrapped up its most-successful All-Star Game weekend in league history in Phoenix.<\p>
Can the Phoenix Rising get back to championship form?
Under a new manager and paced by a new signing, Phoenix Rising recently got their first win since June 8, and it came after a month of ups and downs for the club. Still, questions and concerns continue to revolve around the organization that won the USL title last season.<\p> In the first game since a road loss to San Antonio, interim head coach Diego Gómez earned his first win at the helm on July 19, as Rising defeated El Paso 2-0 at Phoenix Rising Soccer Stadium.<\p>
Here are the 2024 Small Business Awards finalists
The Phoenix Business Journal has unveiled the finalists for the sixth-annual Small Business Awards recognizing excellence in small businesses in three size categories of micro, small and midsize companies. The event is presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. The supporting sponsor is Salt River Project.<\p> Sixteen finalists were selected from a pool of 55 by a panel of judges based on various criteria including revenue growth, contributions to their industry, vision for the future, and their potential to influence the local business community. <\p>
Blackstone subsidiary pays nearly $250M for data center site
QTS Realty Trust has acquired a substantial site in the Phoenix metro for another data center campus. <\p> Overland Park, Kansas-based QTS, which is owned by private equity firm Blackstone Inc., acquired 206 acres in the West Valley for $246.8 million in an all cash deal in July from TGV Investments LLC, according to Maricopa County land records. That's equal to approximately $1.2 million an acre, according to real estate database Vizzda. <\p>
Developers start work on East Valley retail project
Dirt is moving on an East Valley project that's been about five years in the works.<\p> Northside at SanTan Village — a rising development between Williams Field and Ray roads in Gilbert — will transform about 20 acres with new restaurants, retail and a hotel. Developers Okland Capital and San Tan Development Group have started construction on the first six buildings totaling 37,245 square feet for new retail. Blake Bunker, the managing partner of Okland Capital, said construction on a 134-key Marriott Springhill Suites would start next month, making up about 10 of the 20 acres for Northside at SanTan Village.<\p>
Report: Valley millennials rush to buy homes
The Phoenix metro has emerged as one of the nation’s top places for millennials to buy houses. <\p> A new analysis by SmartAsset of the 40 largest U.S. metros ranked the Valley No. 6 overall for its percentage of local millennials who bought homes in 2022. Across the Phoenix area, more than 5% of millennials living in the region purchased homes that year. <\p>
Team USA pack lessons from WNBA All-Star weekend for Paris Olympics
As Diana Taurasi spoke to reporters Saturday outside the Team USA locker room after the WNBA All-Star game, Phoenix Mercury teammate Kahleah Copper walked behind the six-time Olympian, dancing with one hand in the air and a flour taco in the other before using her unoccupied hand to play with Taurasi’s ear.<\p> Taurasi turned, laughed and Copper leaned her head on the 20-year veteran’s shoulder.<\p>
Country clubs are getting younger. Not everyone is happy about it.
Pine Tree Country Club general manager Andrew Smith isn’t sweating the dress code.<\p> The Birmingham, Alabama, club has relaxed its clothing rules since its founding in 1968, when it debuted as the result of a merger between two private clubs. Since then, the focus at the club has been on creating a fun, friendly atmosphere where people can meet — and membership has grown as a result.<\p>
National homebuilder's CFO to retire; successor named
Atlanta-based homebuilder PulteGroup Inc. is planning a big change to its C-suite.<\p> PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM), which recently inked a pair of hefty leases in the Phoenix metro to significantly grow its Valley footprint, said that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Bob O’Shaughnessy has announced he will retire at the end of next year. Senior Vice President of Finance Jim Ossowski has been named as O’Shaughnessy's successor.<\p>
Valley nonprofits try varying strategies to keep clients cool
When rich folks in the Phoenix area complain about the brutal summer heat, they may not get a ton of sympathy from the members of the Valley's nonprofit community who are working feverishly to do what they can to help keep their clients as comfortable as possible in triple-digit temperatures.<\p> As the Phoenix Business Journal compiled the three annual nonprofit organizations lists that were published July 19, we included an optional question in the surveys, asking what the organizations did to assist the people they serve through the toasty summer months.<\p>
Harkins Theatres CEO appointed chair of foundation
Mike Bowers, the president and CEO of Harkins Theatres, has been appointed as the new chair of The Cinema Foundation.<\p> Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the foundation is dedicated to strengthening the cinema industry and engaging moviegoers throughout the country.<\p>
'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' taps Scottsdale builder
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has selected Scottsdale-based Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NYSE: TMHC) as its exclusive homebuilder for its home renovation show on ABC-TV.<\p> The show will be filmed Sept. 9-16 at Taylor Morrison's La Mira community in Mesa, where homes range between 1,700 and 3,900 square feet and are priced from the high $400,000s.<\p>
Phoenix bank parent's deposits surge amid strategy shift
Western Alliance Bancorporation has seen its shares rise 8% since the company reported a $4 billion increase in quarter-over-quarter deposits as it shifted to an “earnings growth strategy.”<\p> Phoenix-based Western Alliance (NYSE: WAL), which operates Alliance Bank of Arizona along with banks in Nevada and California, reported on July 18 that it had $66.2 billion in deposits in the second quarter, marking an increase from $62.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024 and $51 billion in the year-earlier quarter.<\p>
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