The state-run vaccination site at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, which has administered nearly 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, will relocate Monday, April 12 to Desert Financial Arena on Arizona State University’s Tempe campus.
“Arizonans have come together to protect our communities and expand vaccinations quickly,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “I’m grateful to all the volunteers, staff members and health care professionals who are helping Arizonans get vaccinated, and to Arizona State University for their continued partnership.”
The shift will move vaccination operations indoors as temperatures grow warmer at Arizona State University’s (ASU) venue for basketball and other large-scale indoor events. Phoenix Municipal Stadium, located just northwest of the Tempe campus, is ASU’s baseball facility.
“Arizona State University has been an invaluable partner and resource as the state of Arizona has developed mass-vaccination sites that have now administered more than 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). “Phoenix Municipal Stadium has been a tremendous success, and we look forward to continued progress as this operation moves indoors at ASU.”
Those who already have second-dose appointments scheduled at Phoenix Municipal Stadium for Monday, April 12, and later are being informed of the new location for this operation.
“There is great teamwork and professional expertise in action at the state’s public vaccination sites and ASU is committed to playing our part and doing whatever is necessary to continue accelerating the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines,” said Arizona State University President Michael M. Crow. “We all know that in Arizona it gets hot before the calendar says it’s summer, so we are pleased to put Desert Financial Arena to use as a new, indoor, air conditioned point of distribution. The nimble teams that have pivoted and reconfigured through testing and the conversion this winter to vaccinations are taking the lead in the redeployment from outdoors to indoors and we expect a smooth transition.”
Through today, the Phoenix Municipal Stadium site, located in the facility’s parking lot, has administered 171,202 doses. ADHS opened the site Feb. 1 in partnership with ASU, the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, and others. Walmart is contracted to provide pharmacy support.
Patients can use a parking lot free of charge near Desert Financial Arena, which also is convenient to light rail, bus, and neighborhood circulators at the Tempe Transit Center.
Vaccinations will be provided in the arena on the main concourse of Desert Financial Arena, and arena seating will be available for the required 15 or 30 minutes of observation after vaccination.
This move is one of a number of changes ADHS has made to continue vaccination momentum while transitioning away from outdoor sites as temperatures heat up:
- This week, the drive-thru State Farm Stadium site began operating between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m., shifting from 24/7 operation while continuing a collaboration with the Arizona Cardinals and Glendale. ADHS is transitioning the State Farm Stadium vaccination site to the Gila River Arena indoor location on April 23.
- An east Mesa distribution center operated by Dexcom opened this week as the first state-run indoor drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site, replacing the outdoor site at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.
- An indoor vaccination site at Yuma Civic Center transitioned to a state operation on Monday, March 29, with 8,000 appointments per week initially and capacity for 4,000 appointments a day.
- On April 22, an indoor state vaccination site serving the North Valley will open at WestWorld, the Scottsdale exhibition center.
As of Wednesday, 3,799,255 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered statewide to 2,400,156 individuals, including 1,522,695 who are now fully vaccinated.
At 11 a.m. every Friday, ADHS makes appointments available at state-run sites for the following week. Registration for these and many other sites is available at podvaccine.azdhs.gov or by calling 844-542-8201 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m, 7 days a week. Both resources offer assistance in English and Spanish.
Information about all vaccination sites across Arizona can be found at azhealth.gov/findvaccine. To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination, please visit azdhs.gov/COVID19Vaccines.
