
Being that my wife is a volleyball nut, playing on scholarship at NAU, and now coaching various club and high school teams around the valley, we, of course, had to make some time to go and watch some pretty amazing athletes play beach volleyball. We went Saturday night (neither one of us had any interest in sitting through the 100 degree heat during the day) and got to see 3 matches. The highlight of the night was getting to see Misty May and Keri Walsh, pictured above, (both of which my wife played against in college) beat up on there opponents advancing to the Quarter Finals of the tournament.
Even more than getting to enjoy the beach volleyball atmosphere and getting the opportunity to see Olympic gold medalists do what they do best, we also had a chance to walk around and experience the Westgate City Center just a little bit. I was quite impressed with what they have to offer. It's not just a gathering of sports venues and the obligitory grouping of restaurants that typically accompany, but they also had shopping (both boutique and national stores), night clubs/bars, a movie theater, hotels, residential development and commercial office space all set in a small downtown setting. It reminded me of a combination of The Arizona Center and Kierland.
If you haven't had a chance to visit I'd recommend doing so. It's worth it.
-Steve Nicks