What the venue itself publishes
Taken from the official sources linked at the bottom of this page, last reviewed August 1, 2026. Event-day instructions always win over anything written here.
- The venue's own site now calls the arena Mortgage Matchup Center and lists it at 201 E Jefferson Street in downtown Phoenix.
- The accessibility page points to an event drop-off on Third Street just south of Jefferson, at the green curb, and says vehicles can't park or be left unattended in drop-off zones.
- The transportation page lists several Lyft drop-off points and names Third and Jefferson near the Convention Center for Lyft pickup.
- The venue says parking availability, access and pricing change by event, and asks guests to look at event parking ahead of time.
- Accessible parking in the arena and Jefferson garages is first-come, first-served, with entrance details on the official accessibility page.
Use both names in the group chat
Your tickets and venue emails may say Mortgage Matchup Center while half your friends still say Footprint Center. Put both names and the street address in one message and nobody treats the old name as a different building.
The arena, the ballpark and the Convention Center all sit in the same few blocks, so 'the arena' on its own is too vague on a busy night. Give the driver the event, the door time, and the entrance if your tickets name one.
A drop-off curb is not a parking spot
The venue is clear that vehicles can't park or sit unattended in drop-off zones, so treat the published Third Street point as somewhere to step off, not somewhere your bus will be waiting. Size, traffic control and closures can send a larger vehicle elsewhere.
For the ride home, pick a covered or plaza meeting point and keep everyone there until the driver is cleared to come in. Rideshare pickup spots are useful for reading the crowd, but they aren't automatically where a bus goes.
Getting out after a sellout
The arena empties fast and cell service gets flaky right when you need it. Send the map pin and the landmark before doors, and ask people to reply so you know they read it. If you're seated in different sections, meet outside the bowl rather than at the curb.
Run two clocks, not one: when your group gathers, and when the bus comes in. Count heads first, then call the driver. If he has to keep circling, your people stay put instead of chasing the bus around downtown.
