America's sunniest metropolis is putting on the shine for the more than
125,000 visitors and 3,000 media members who will descend on the region for Super Bowl XLII between the New England Patriots and New York Giants.

    The big game itself will be played Feb. 3 at University of Phoenix
Stadium in Glendale, but the weeklong blitz of Super Bowl-related events
and festivities will touch nearly ever corner of the Valley, from
celebrity-studded parties to youth clinics to a free mega-concert.

    Downtown Phoenix will be in the middle of it all, serving as the
headquarters for Super Bowl media and a backdrop for several NFL-sponsored events.

    Journalists from all over the globe will set up shop in the Phoenix
Convention Center's new West Building, which will be the official site of
the NFL Media Center. The NFL Network will broadcast from the West
Building's exhibit hall, which will also house radio row.

    "The Super Bowl gives us an opportunity to showcase the astonishing
capabilities of the convention center to host not only large and
complicated events, but also to provide exemplary meeting support and
service," explained Steve Moore, President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau.

    The Phoenix Convention Center will be venue for the famous "Taste of
the NFL." And music will ring out at Symphony Hall and The Orpheum during Super Bowl Week. The former will provide the stage for the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration, which brings together big-name recording artists (including Patti Labelle) and NFL players for a soul-stirring evening of music and testimonies. The Orpheum, an immaculately restored theater that is on the National Register of Historic Places, will be the site of the
Super Bowl XLII Fashion & Music Kickoff. Both events are slated for the
evening of Feb. 1.

    Downtown Phoenix nightspots also have big Super Bowl plans. Phoenix
Suns basketball star Amare Stoudemire will throw a Jan. 31 "Welcome to
Phoenix" party at the restaurant that bears his name. And Majerle's, a
venerable sports bar owned by former Suns star Dan Majerle, will host a
three-day block party on First Street during game week.

    Even the host hotel for the New England Patriots, the Westin Kierland
Resort and Spa, has made elaborate arrangements for the team. The Patriots will be able to use their pools, luxurious spa, Deseo restaurant, and golf course. The resort has stocked over 6,000 bottle of Gatorade. Or they can go next door to the Ocean Club for chowder.

    Thanks to its mild winter weather, Greater Phoenix is the ideal setting
for Super Bowl block parties and other outdoor celebrations. The sun shines on America's fifth-largest city during 85 percent of its daylight hours, and the average high temperature in winter is 67 degrees.

    For fans and players of the Patriots and Giants -- teams that advanced
to the Super Bowl by winning playoff games in sub-freezing temperatures -- Greater Phoenix's sun-burnished cityscape is a godsend.

    "Now we're going somewhere warm," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady told reporters moments after his team won the AFC Championship on a frozen field in Foxborough, Mass. "Because I'm freezing my you-know-what off."

It remains up for speculation whether Tom Brady will actually play though.