As of September 2026, VAI Resort in Glendale has no confirmed opening date. The resort, built near State Farm Stadium along Loop 101 and Cardinals Way, has missed every target since construction began in 2021. Under its own policy, VAI will give nine months’ notice before opening — which means the soonest a 2026 opening could be announced has already passed.
If you live in the West Valley, here is what is riding on this project
The resort was supposed to be open by now. It is not. And for West Valley residents, that delay has real costs.
Every missed opening date means another year without the tax revenue Glendale has built into its budget projections. It means another year of construction traffic near State Farm Stadium and Cardinals Way with nothing finished to show for it. And it means 2,000 promised jobs that still do not exist.
When VAI Resort does open, the scale of impact is hard to overstate. The resort is projected to generate nearly $2 billion in economic activity for the West Valley. That money flows into city services — police, fire, roads — and into local businesses near Westgate Entertainment District and Desert Diamond Arena.
But the bigger long-term story may be the land around it. Glendale City Manager Patrick Banger has pointed to roughly 1,000 vacant acres surrounding the resort site as a future development corridor. If that land fills with housing, retail, and offices, it will change commute patterns, home values, and the feel of the entire area near the Loop 101 and 95th Avenue corridor. For anyone who owns or is thinking about buying nearby, that is worth watching closely. You can see a similar dynamic playing out along Loop 101 in Phoenix, where a 665-acre PUD rezone is already in motion.
The complete opening-date timeline: every missed window since 2021
The project was first announced in 2020 under the name Crystal Lagoons Island Resort. It broke ground in June 2021 with a target opening of fall 2022.
That date came and went. In 2022, Crystal Lagoons exited the project entirely. Father-son developers Tommy and Grant Fisher — previously known for Fisher Industries, a border wall contractor — took over and renamed it VAI Resort. They rebuilt the concept from the ground up, nearly doubling the room count and tripling the budget.
Since then, the timeline has slipped repeatedly:
- Fall 2022: Original Crystal Lagoons target. Missed — ownership changed.
- Late 2023: First VAI-era target. Missed.
- Late 2025: Phased opening target. Missed.
- 2026: Current stated window. As of April 2026, no specific date announced.
- Early 2027 at the earliest: VAI’s own FAQ states it will give nine months’ notice before opening. A May 2026 analysis concluded that as of that month, the resort may not open until February 2027 at the earliest.
Then-City Manager Kevin Phelps confirmed in October 2025 that the project was still projecting a late 2026 opening, even as a legal battle continued.
From $350 million to $1.3 billion: how the budget grew
The cost escalation is not just inflation. It reflects a fundamental redesign of the project.
When Crystal Lagoons had the contract, the plan was a $350 million resort with about 600 rooms. The Fishers kept the site but reimagined everything. Phelps told KJZZ: “It’s gone from a $350 million project to, we think now, close to a $1.3 billion project” and “from 600 rooms to 1,100 rooms.”
The current estimate sits at $1.2 to $1.3 billion. The amphitheater alone now carries a $50 million construction budget.
Four towers, an amphitheater, José Andrés, and more: what you will actually find inside
One of the VAI Resort towers mid-construction in Glendale, with scaffolding and exposed insulation board visible. (InsideTheValley)
VAI Resort will have 1,100 rooms spread across four towers when complete, making it the largest resort in Arizona by room count. The four towers are Amphitheater Tower, Rhythm Tower, Cadence Tower, and VAI Villas. The Amphitheater Tower includes 149 balcony rooms facing the stage directly.
The 11,000-capacity VAI Amphitheater is being built in partnership with entertainment engineering firm TAIT. Live Nation and its subsidiary C3 Presents are contracted to book and promote shows there, targeting more than 100 shows per year.
On the dining side, chef José Andrés will open Bar Mar — his first Arizona restaurant. Andrés holds Michelin stars at other properties, making this a notable arrival for the Valley.
Workers on scaffolding at the VAI Resort site in October 2025, with a crane crossing the upper frame. (InsideTheValley)
The 1,000 vacant acres around VAI: Glendale’s next development frontier
VAI Resort sits on about 60 acres on the southern edge of Glendale’s Sports and Entertainment District. But the land around it is the bigger story right now.
City Manager Patrick Banger, who took over from Kevin Phelps, used an August 2026 statement to call VAI “an incredible opportunity for Glendale” that will put the city “on the map as a premier entertainment and hospitality destination.” The September 2026 AZCentral story that anchors this report focused on Banger highlighting roughly 1,000 vacant acres surrounding the resort as a catalyst for broader West Valley development.
That land, sitting along Loop 101 near Cardinals Way, is essentially undeveloped. If the resort performs, developers will follow. That could mean new housing, offices, and retail — and real pressure on land values and infrastructure in the surrounding area. It is the same growth-corridor dynamic visible in projects like the Halo Vista development along the TSMC corridor in Peoria.
Multi-front opposition: Worker Power, the GPLET lawsuit, and Props 401 and 402
Labor advocacy group Worker Power — the Arizona arm of California-based Unite Here Local 11 — has run a sustained campaign against the resort’s public subsidies.
The group collected more than 5,500 signatures to force a May 2025 special election. Voters faced two measures. Prop 401, which would have allowed office buildings and a parking garage on 10 adjacent acres, was rejected. Prop 402, updating the resort’s planned-area-development zoning, passed.
Separately, Worker Power has backed a lawsuit arguing that VAI’s proposed 25-year GPLET tax exemption violates Arizona’s constitutional gift clause. The city previously withdrew the GPLET arrangement to avoid triggering a referendum, but the legal challenge has continued.
VAI supporters have argued that Worker Power’s real goal is to pressure the resort into using union labor. The controversy has complicated every step of the project’s public approvals.
Workplace safety: the fatal accident on the VAI construction site
A branded work truck at the VAI Resort construction site at 9601 W. Cardinals Way in Glendale, with scaffolding visible on the building behind it. (InsideTheValley)
On December 16, 2024, Tyrone Wilson — a 22-year-old construction worker — died after falling from a scissor lift on the VAI Resort job site. Wilson was an employee of subcontractor E&E Companies LLC, which was installing and removing concrete forms at the time.
The Arizona Occupational Safety and Health Division (ADOSH) investigated and issued two serious safety violations against E&E Companies LLC. The maximum potential fine was $27,423. ADOSH cited the company for failing to properly train employees on the improper use of a ladder inside a scissor lift.
The general contractor on site at the time, Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. (Fisher Industries), confirmed in a statement that the deceased was “a trade partner’s employee.”
Mattel Adventure Park: also delayed, now targeting 2027
Adjacent to VAI Resort, Mattel Adventure Park was planned to open alongside the resort. It features Hot Wheels, Barbie, and Thomas & Friends themed attractions. Wikipedia lists the Glendale park’s planned opening as 2027.
The park’s development situation has grown murky. In August 2026, Axios reported that Epic Resort Destinations — the original developer — may no longer be connected to the project. VAI Resort spokesperson Rian Kirkman stated only that “VAI is the owner and operator of the Mattel Adventure Park.” Calls and emails to Epic co-founders Mark Cornell and Glen Bilbo went unanswered, and some email addresses were undeliverable. Read our full report on the Epic Resort Destinations exit.
The next signal to watch: VAI’s nine-month notice commitment
VAI Resort has committed publicly to announcing its opening date nine months in advance. That is the clearest indicator available right now. No nine-month notice has been issued as of September 2026. By that math, a 2026 opening is off the table. A spring 2027 opening would require an announcement by late summer or fall 2026 — watch for that signal.
On the labor front, the gift-clause lawsuit remains active, and its outcome could affect what public benefits — if any — the resort ultimately receives. The ~1,000 acres surrounding the site will start attracting developer attention the moment an opening date is locked in. That is when the real West Valley land story begins.
For context on how large entertainment and hospitality projects reshape Valley hotel markets, see our coverage of the Marriott Tribute Hotel coming to the Novus Innovation Corridor in Tempe and the JW Marriott conversion in Downtown Phoenix.
