Scottsdale polo event to see biggest year ever

By Brandon Brown, Phoenix Business Journal

Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships is one of the biggest and most unique parties in the Valley and its organizers are expecting to break a revenue record from this year’s event.

The 11th annual event presented by Talking Stick Resort will be held at WestWorld of Scottsdale on Nov. 5.

“We will set a record for ticket revenue this year,” said Jason Rose, the founder of the event. “Last year was our biggest year ever and we are going to eclipse what we did last year.”

The event, which features a polo match, also is home to several VIP party tents, collector cars, a fashion show, musical performances and a wine tasting. The Polo Championships has grown every year with about a quarter of a mile worth of tents for the 2022 event.

Rose said they have used all of the space available to them at WestWorld without expanding stands and tents to multiple levels like at the WM Phoenix Open. Growing vertically isn’t out of the question for the future, though, Rose said, but it costs a lot more to grow that way and they’d have to make sure it would work financially.

While polo is not a very common sport in Arizona, Rose said the annual event quickly gained momentum and prestige when local tastemakers Alfred Molina of Molina Fine Jewelers and Craig Jackson of Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. signed on as sponsors.

“This event would not be what is it today without people like Al Molina,” Rose said. “Barrett-Jackson was right there. They lent us prestige and gave us credibility.”

Molina has been involved in polo for multiple decades now and creates the cup for the winners of the Scottsdale Polo Championships and has the largest tent at the event. Molina told the Business Journal that the event has turned into a “very powerful” force for culture and business in the Valley.

The polo event attracts luxury brands and aspirational attendees, Rose said, making it prime sponsorship opportunities.

Reposted from https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2022/10/31/scottsdale-polo-championships-2022.html