Rent a Bus to Footprint Center: The Complete Footprint Center Transportation Guide

Every group that has ever tried to park on Jefferson Street for a Suns game knows how this evening starts: the I-17 merge is slow, the Jefferson Street Garage fills up an hour before tip-off, the private lots along Washington Street charge whatever they want on a sold-out night, and someone in the caravan takes the wrong exit and texts from four blocks away asking where everyone parked. The arena itself is easy to find. Everything around getting a group of 15 or 20 people there, in the same place, at the same time, and back home again — that's where the headaches live.

One naming note worth covering upfront: the arena has cycled through several names over the years — US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix Suns Arena, Footprint Center — and as of October 2025 it's officially Mortgage Matchup Center. Same address, same corner, same building: 201 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix, AZ 85004. This guide uses both names throughout so anyone still searching for Footprint Center finds the same verified logistics.

Whether you're heading down I-17 for a Suns game, a Phoenix Mercury night, or a major concert, the drop-off zone, the parking situation, and the correct approach from Peoria are all the same.

Why Rent a Party Bus or Charter Bus to Footprint Center?

Mortgage Matchup Center sits in the middle of downtown Phoenix's street grid — not in a suburban lot with a dedicated bus entrance, not adjacent to a massive park-and-ride campus. It's at 1st Street and Jefferson, surrounded by metered street parking that gets aggressively enforced on event nights, two garages that go from available to full between 5:30 and 7:00 PM, and private lots that price dynamically upward the closer you get to tip-off. From Peoria, you're looking at about 15 miles down I-17 South — roughly 25 to 30 minutes off-peak — and then the full downtown parking decision on the other end.

Renting a Peoria party bus or charter bus to Footprint Center removes every piece of that equation. Your group loads up at one address in Peoria, rides I-17 South together, drops at the green curb on 3rd Street steps from the Pavilion entrance, and gets picked up at the same spot after the game. The $20-per-car parking fee, the scramble for adjacent spots so the group stays together, and the post-game text thread about who parked where — none of that exists on a bus.

For groups of 15 or more making the I-17 run from the West Valley, one vehicle is almost always simpler and cheaper per person than three or four separate cars with separate downtown parking fees. For a deeper look at how that math works on Suns and Mercury nights specifically, the Peoria sporting event transportation page has the full breakdown.

Charter Bus & Party Bus Drop-Off at Footprint Center (Mortgage Matchup Center)

The drop-off zone most groups use is on 3rd Street just south of Jefferson Street, at the green curb — the venue's published event passenger drop point, per the official Mortgage Matchup Center venue information page. This is not an unofficial rideshare staging area or a convenient nearby curb. It's the venue's designated event drop zone, placed a short walk from the main north entrance on the Pavilion side.

Your group steps off 3rd Street, crosses to Jefferson, and walks into the Pavilion. Compare that to the Jefferson Street Garage a block away: park, find your floor, take the elevator, walk to the arena. The green curb is faster almost every trip.

One detail to plan around: vehicles cannot remain unattended at the drop zone. The bus drops the group, clears the curb, and stages in the surrounding blocks while everyone is inside — then returns to the same 3rd Street spot for the agreed pickup window after the game or concert ends. Because this pickup arrangement works consistently for most events, the plan is easy to communicate: group assembles at 3rd Street and Jefferson after the final buzzer, bus pulls in, everyone loads.

No surge-priced app, no "I'm four blocks away on Washington" texts. Confirm your post-game pickup time when you book so the bus is right there rather than circling.

For guests using will-call or for groups with accessibility needs, the venue's official accessibility page lists a second drop point: 1st Street just north of Madison Street, on the west side of the arena near the ticket office. The attached arena garage also enters from 1st Street and Madison, with accessible parking available on all floors on a first-come, first-served basis. Wheelchair escorts are available from any entrance if needed — contact the venue at 602-379-2000 or accessibility@suns.com ahead of your visit.

Bus Staging and Pickup Near the Arena

Unlike suburban stadiums that dedicate a back lot to charter bus parking, Mortgage Matchup Center is in a dense urban grid with no venue-operated oversized vehicle lot adjacent to the building. Once the group is on the curb, the bus stages on nearby streets or in commercial parking in the blocks around 1st–4th Street while the game is on, then swings back to the 3rd Street zone for the arranged pickup window. The blocks surrounding the arena see event-night restrictions and enforcement — confirm the staging arrangement with your provider when you book and factor in a realistic post-game buffer time, since 17,000 people exiting at once means the 3rd Street curb approach is slower at 9:45 PM than it was at 6:15 PM.

A support team at 480-521-0844 can help you work through arrival and pickup timing so your group isn't the last one standing on Jefferson.

Getting to Footprint Center from Peoria: The I-17 Run

The Peoria-to-arena route is a straight south run: I-17 South to the Jefferson Street exit, then a short east jog on Jefferson to 1st Street and the arena. From central Peoria, that's about 15 miles. Off-peak, the whole corridor takes 25 to 30 minutes.

On a Suns home game night, the I-17 southbound lanes between the Dunlap Avenue and I-10 interchange area compress reliably, and the Jefferson-area exits back up as 17,000 people funnel into the same grid. Budget 40 to 50 minutes for a 7:00 PM tip-off departure from Peoria, and more for a nationally televised Saturday game or a playoff night.

The I-17 and I-10 interchange is the specific friction point. Southbound traffic stacks from the merge well before the downtown exits, and any event at the arena timed around 7:00 PM means peak drive traffic and peak event traffic overlap. On a bus, that overlap is someone else's navigation problem — your group is seated and moving.

The approach also avoids the situation every self-driving group runs into: three cars take three different exits, someone ends up on Washington Street instead of Jefferson, and the group texts for 20 minutes trying to find the same garage entrance.

Parking Near Footprint Center: What Groups Are Actually Paying

Downtown Phoenix is not an $8-flat-rate parking situation on event nights. The closest public option is the Jefferson Street Garage at 333 E. Jefferson St. — directly between the arena and Chase Field, one short block from the Pavilion entrance — which runs roughly $20 for most events, per published parking guides. That's the go-to garage, and it's a reasonable walk once you find a spot.

The arena's own attached five-story garage, entered at 1st Street and Madison, holds 700-plus spaces but is primarily allocated to suite holders and premium seat holders, with limited daily public availability — contact the parking office for event-specific public space questions. Private lots on and around Jefferson and Washington streets advertise from about $8 to $15 depending on how far you're willing to walk.

Here's what the parking cost looks like for a group. Twenty people coming from Peoria in five cars: at $20 each in the Jefferson Street Garage, that's $100 in parking before anyone is inside the building. Spread across those 20 people, that's $5 a head just for the spot — plus each car needing its own designated driver who's committed for the night.

One Peoria minibus or charter bus rental puts everyone on one vehicle, covers the full round trip, and replaces all five parking passes with a single flat quote. The Jefferson Street Garage is an excellent option for a pair or a small group of three — drive in, pay $20, walk over. For 15 or more people, the per-person math tips decisively the other way.

Valley Metro Light Rail: Free with Your Ticket, but Not from Peoria

One thing that sets this arena apart from most suburban venues: the Valley Metro A Line stops at 3rd Street/Jefferson — one block from the Pavilion entrance — and at 3rd Street/Washington, and anyone holding a valid Mortgage Matchup Center event ticket can board for free. That's the RailRide program, confirmed on the venue's official transportation page: show your event ticket to a Valley Metro fare inspector if asked, and it's accepted as valid fare starting six hours before the event through the end of transit service that day.

The catch for Peoria groups is straightforward: the light rail doesn't reach Peoria. The Valley Metro Rail system runs from northwest Phoenix southeastward to Mesa — the farthest northwest stations are well south of Peoria in Phoenix proper. Someone based in central or south Phoenix can walk to a station, show their ticket, and ride straight to 3rd and Jefferson for free.

A group organizing from Peoria, Surprise, or Glendale would need to drive to a park-and-ride location and board the rail there — which adds a transfer, a separate car situation, and the coordination complexity a bus was supposed to solve in the first place. For most West Valley groups, a single bus that gathers everyone at one Peoria location is the cleaner answer.

Footprint Center Transportation: Every Option Compared

This is a comparison website, so here is an honest look at every realistic option for a group of 15 or more people heading to Mortgage Matchup Center from Peoria. The right answer depends on your headcount, your event, and how much coordination overhead you want to manage.

For one or two people with access to the light rail, the RailRide program is genuinely the best option — zero cost, one block from the door, no parking decision. For a group of two or three who are driving anyway, the Jefferson Street Garage is the practical call. Once you have 15 or more people coming from Peoria and the total parking tab hits $60 to $100 across multiple cars, the per-person math on a single bus starts looking very different.

Add in the designated-driver question and the post-game surge on rideshare, and the comparison closes quickly.

What Bus Does Your Footprint Center Group Need?

Group size is the first decision, and it determines everything else. Peoriapartybuscompany.com connects you to a broad range of vehicle types through a large network of providers serving Peoria and the West Valley, so you're not paying for 56 seats when your group is 22 people — or squeezing into a minibus when you've got 40.

The minibus is the most practical pick for a straightforward Peoria-to-arena group run — easier to stage on the surrounding streets than a full 45-foot coach, handles the I-17 South corridor without issue, and drops at the green curb the same way any larger vehicle does. The full charter bus becomes the right call when you've got 40 or more people or need undercarriage storage for equipment, presentation materials, or gear. The party bus versions add bar setup and LED lighting if your group's pregame starts on the bus, not at the arena.

ADA-accessible vehicles are available through the network — note it when you request your quote and plan for at least 48 hours of advance notice.

Footprint Center Party Bus Rental Prices from Peoria

Rates move with vehicle size, total rental hours, the event date, and whether it's a weekday or weekend. A Tuesday Mercury game and a Saturday playoff night are two very different requests with two very different quotes — there's no single published number that applies to every Peoria-to-Mortgage Matchup Center run. To give you an idea of planning ranges:

• A 15–35 passenger minibus runs roughly $200–$275 per hour on weekends — a 4-hour round trip for a regular-season game might total around $800–$1,100, or about $40–$55 per person for a group of 20.
• A 25-passenger party bus runs roughly $275–$375 per hour on weekends — a 5-hour Saturday Suns game run with pregame time might come to $1,375–$1,875, roughly $55–$75 per person across 25 people.
• A 40–56 passenger charter bus runs roughly $200–$350 per hour, with per-day rates of $1,350–$2,850 for groups that want the bus all evening — and split across 50 people, that can come out well under $30 per head.

Those are planning ranges, not quotes — pricing for your specific date, group size, and Peoria pickup location comes back in under 30 seconds when you fill out the form or call 480-521-0844. No account required, no obligation. The Peoria party bus prices page has the full vehicle-by-vehicle rate breakdown if you want to plan a budget before you call.

A Wednesday Game-Night Example

A 22-person group from Peoria books a 25-passenger party bus for a Wednesday Suns home game. Pickup at 5:30 PM from a central Peoria meeting spot, down I-17 South to the green curb on 3rd Street by 6:20 PM — 40 minutes before a 7:00 PM tip-off. The bus stages nearby while the game runs.

Post-game pickup at the same 3rd Street curb around 9:45 PM, back to Peoria by 10:30 PM. A 5-hour rental at that vehicle size might total around $1,500 — roughly $68 per person — with the parking fees, the designated-driver question, and the post-game rideshare surge all folded into that single number.

Suns, Mercury & Concert Groups: When to Book Early

Mortgage Matchup Center runs essentially year-round. The Phoenix Suns NBA regular season runs October through April, with home games on most weekend nights and multiple weekdays each month. The Phoenix Mercury WNBA season runs May through September — home games that sell out regularly, especially weekend matchups and any playoff run.

Between those two seasons, there are only a handful of weeks when nothing major is on the arena calendar, and concert tours fill those gaps throughout.

Two upcoming events that every West Valley group should have on their radar:

• NBA All-Star Weekend 2027 — February 19–21, 2027. All-Star Weekend in Phoenix means the entire metro fills up for four days — the All-Star Game at Mortgage Matchup Center, the Three-Point Contest, the Slam Dunk Contest, concerts, fan events spread across downtown Phoenix and Scottsdale, and every charter bus and party bus in the West Valley spoken for weeks in advance. If your group is planning to be part of All-Star 2027, the time to secure transportation from Peoria is well before January. This is the event where waiting costs you availability, not just price.
• Sold-out concerts. When a major tour sells out the arena's 17,000-plus seats, rideshare surge pricing around Jefferson and 3rd Street kicks in from the moment doors open and doesn't clear for an hour after the last act. A direct bus from Peoria means your group arrives before the surge builds and clears the curb well before the post-show crowd floods the rideshare app. The Peoria concert transportation page covers the timing specifics for show nights.

For regular-season Suns and Mercury games, two to four weeks of lead time is workable for most dates. For playoffs, All-Star weekend, and sold-out shows, book as soon as your date is confirmed. The best vehicles for fan-group sizes move first.

Call 480-521-0844 to check availability for your event date.

Clear Bag Policy and Entry Tips for Group Arrivals

Arriving at the green curb on 3rd Street with 20 people who all have the wrong bag type will slow your group's entry in a way that's entirely avoidable. Brief your group on the bag rules before the bus leaves Peoria, not after you're standing in the security line.

• Clear bags permitted up to 14″ × 14″ × 6″ — plastic, vinyl, or PVC. This is a generous size; a standard one-gallon clear ziplock bag fits well within the limit.
• Small clutches and crossbody bags are permitted without a stated size restriction, provided they go through X-ray at the checkpoint.
• Backpacks are prohibited. This is the most common first-timer mistake. No exceptions for drawstring bags or hydration packs.
• Medical bags and diaper bags are allowed but subject to additional screening at entry.
• Evolv express entry lanes are available for guests arriving without any bag or with a small clutch under 4″ × 6″ — the fastest path through security on a full-house game night. For a group of 20, routing the bag-free members through Evolv and the clear-bag members through standard lanes can cut your entry time noticeably.

Policy can tighten for specific concerts and special events beyond the arena's standard Suns and Mercury rules. Always check the specific event page on the Mortgage Matchup Center website before your group boards the bus in Peoria — surprises at the gate are always worse than surprises at home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly does a charter bus or party bus drop off at Footprint Center?

The venue's official event drop-off zone is on 3rd Street just south of Jefferson Street, at the green curb — published on the official Mortgage Matchup Center venue information page. This is the designated passenger drop point for event nights. Your group steps off 3rd Street and walks to the main Pavilion entrance on the north side.

Vehicles cannot remain unattended at the drop zone, so the bus clears the curb after drop-off and stages nearby, then returns for pickup at the arranged time.

Is there a separate drop-off for will-call or accessibility needs?

Yes. The venue's accessibility page lists a second drop point at 1st Street just north of Madison Street on the west side of the arena, near the ticket office. Accessible parking in the arena garage also enters from 1st Street and Madison.

Wheelchair escorts are available from any entrance. Note accessibility requirements when requesting your quote so the right vehicle is confirmed.

How far is Footprint Center from Peoria, AZ?

From Peoria's city center, the arena is roughly 15 miles via I-17 South — about 25 to 30 minutes off-peak. On a Suns game night, plan for 40 to 50 minutes. From Surprise or Sun City West, add approximately 5 miles and another 5 to 10 minutes to those estimates.

What does it cost to park near Footprint Center?

The Jefferson Street Garage at 333 E. Jefferson St. — directly between the arena and Chase Field — runs roughly $20 for most events and is the nearest public garage to the arena. The arena's own attached garage (entry at 1st Street and Madison) is primarily allocated to suite and premium seat holders. Private lots in surrounding blocks run $8 to $15.

Advance purchase through ParkWhiz is strongly recommended for high-demand games; walk-up availability is not guaranteed. For parking questions: 602-514-8472.

Where does the bus park while we're inside?

There's no dedicated charter bus staging lot at Mortgage Matchup Center. The bus stages on nearby streets or in a commercial lot in the surrounding downtown blocks during the event, then returns to the 3rd Street drop zone for the agreed pickup window. Confirm the staging plan when you book and set a clear post-game pickup time so the bus is right there when your group exits.

For questions, a support team is reachable at 480-521-0844 any time.

Can we take Valley Metro light rail from Peoria to the game?

The light rail stops at 3rd Street/Jefferson, one block from the arena's main entrance, and a valid Mortgage Matchup Center event ticket lets you board for free through the RailRide program. However, the Valley Metro rail system doesn't extend to Peoria — the nearest rail stations are in central Phoenix. Peoria groups would need to drive to a connecting park-and-ride point first, adding a transfer step.

For most West Valley groups, a direct bus from Peoria is the cleaner, more coordinated option.

What's the bag policy at Mortgage Matchup Center for Suns games?

Clear bags up to 14″ × 14″ × 6″ are permitted. Small clutches and crossbody bags are allowed. Backpacks are prohibited.

Medical and diaper bags are allowed with additional screening. Evolv express entry lanes offer faster entry for guests without bags or with small clutches under 4″ × 6″. Policy can vary by event, so check the specific event page before heading out from Peoria.

How early should we book for a Suns playoff game or NBA All-Star 2027?

As early as the date is confirmed. Playoff games fill West Valley vehicle supply quickly, especially for fan-group sizes (25–40 passengers) where demand peaks. For regular-season games, two to four weeks works.

For NBA All-Star Weekend 2027 (February 19–21 at Mortgage Matchup Center), book months in advance — All-Star draws visitors from across the country and saturates the entire Phoenix metro's transportation options. Call 480-521-0844 to check availability for your event date as soon as you know it.

What's the right bus for a 30-person group from Peoria?

A 15–35 passenger minibus fits a 30-person group well and navigates downtown Phoenix traffic more easily than a full 45-foot coach. If your group wants party amenities for the pregame — bar setup, LED lighting, sound system — a 30-passenger party bus adds all of that in the same passenger range. Both vehicles drop at the green curb on 3rd Street the same way.

Compare rates at 480-521-0844 in under 30 seconds, no account required.

What is the arena's main phone number?

The Mortgage Matchup Center main line is 602-379-2000. The parking/directions line is 602-514-8472. For ADA or accessibility questions, reach the venue's team at accessibility@suns.com or 602-379-7800.

Book a Charter Bus or Party Bus Rental to Footprint Center Today

The I-17 South run from Peoria to Mortgage Matchup Center is a good bus trip — everyone loads at one Peoria address, the pregame energy builds on the way down, and the post-game exit is a walk from the 3rd Street curb to your waiting vehicle. The $20 parking pass, the lot-exit backup, and the post-game rideshare surge are all off your plate. Whether it's a Suns home game, a Phoenix Mercury sellout, or a concert night at the arena on Jefferson, Peoriapartybuscompany.com makes it straightforward to find a Peoria party bus or charter bus rental, compare vehicles and rates, and confirm your date — all in about a minute online or over the phone.

Chase Field sits literally around the corner from Mortgage Matchup Center on the same Jefferson Street block — if your group is planning a Diamondbacks game on the same visit to downtown Phoenix, the Chase Field group transportation guide covers its own separate drop-off zone and parking logistics. Or check the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport shuttle guide if part of your group is flying into PHX and needs a coordinated pickup on the same run.

Call 480-521-0844 any time to get a quote for your Peoria group, or use the online tool to compare vehicles and rates in under 30 seconds. No account required, no obligation — just fast pricing so your Footprint Center trip is locked in before the good vehicles are gone.