Dear Bob Parsons: Here’s what Westgate really needs

An open letter to Bob Parsons: Hi Bob! Thanks for buying Westgate. You’ve got a track record of success, being the founder of GoDaddy and all. And we hear you have big plans for one of Glendale’s premier venues.

But before you reveal them, you want to take the time to study the area, to look for what’s missing and pursue it.

And that’s great! Because there’s something big missing from Westgate: A reason to go there.

Yeah, I know. It’s near the Arizona Cardinals’ stadium and the Arizona Coyotes’ arena. Most people who wander into Westgate are there because they’ve got tickets for an event (or they just went shopping at the adjacent Tanger Outlets).

And what meets them?

By and large, a bunch of chain restaurants. Franchises you can visit elsewhere.

Buffalo Wild Wings. Chipotle. Cold Stone. Dave and Buster’s.

Even some of the stuff coming soon — like the Lola and Fat Tuesday — are places you can find in multiple other locations.

So, let me speak to you as a resident who lives on the other side of the Valley (a solid 45 minutes without traffic, and more than an hour with it).

Even when we do have tickets to a game or a concert, we find ourselves eating at our locally owned faves — not driving all the way to Westgate for ... meh.

If you want to make Westgate special (and just in time for the 2023 Super Bowl, when the area will be a national showcase for all of Arizona), give it a local flair. Make it feel like someplace, not like every other corporately owned mall — er, entertainment district — out there.

That’s what Westgate is so desperately missing.

Sincerely,

A lover of all things that make Arizona unlike anywhere else.