Rawhide Event Center — Local services in Four Corners States

There was an event I volunteered for at Rawhide in the Southeast Valley as I have not been to this location as frequently since it moved from the far Northeast Valley a decade or more ago. The layout of the property is well designed and spacious with plenty of parking to either side of this huge event centre. We were in the big red barn looking structure, but I got there early to stroll the place. It is like a little bit of Tombstone down in Southeastern AZ here in the Valley of the Sun where western gun battles are played out when you go to enjoy a hearty steak meal. They will still cut your tie if you wear one. The employees people who keep the place super clean, as in not one piece of litter did I see, are cordial, approachable, and helpful. There are plenty of benches on grassy knolls to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Bathrooms are clean as well and automated sinks and dispensers function perfectly. There are ATM's well situated throughout the premises and traffic flows seamlessly around the perimeter. In the near distance, 1.3 miles away, at daytime you can hear speed boats being tested on water that used to be Firebird Lake and is now called Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Not much is louder than Speed boats vibrating airwaves off of the water. It was a beautiful day and you could view the scenery for miles. I highly recommend Rawhide for a good time in a family friendly environment

"Rawhide is an authentic replica of an 1880's town complete with a Main Street, gunfights, stagecoach and train rides, burro rides, mechanical bull, climbing wall, gold pannin', shootin' gallery, unique shops and world famous Steakhouse and Saloon. Admission to Rawhide is free (excluding...

I was there as a vendor this last weekend, and I hope the show organizers don't use this venue again. Cooling is evaporative/swamp coolers, which were not working at all for a good chunk of Saturday. Lead to the hall being extremely hot and uncomfortable, attendees were leaving early, and those who stayed were grumpy and not buying, really hurt sales for that day. Once the coolers came back on, they raised the humidity in the hall, and were honestly totally inadequate for the space and number of people inside the building. Sunday the coolers were working, but the hall was still pretty warm, and still had the issue with high humidity.

Aside from the coolers being inadequate, the bare concrete floors and lack of any acoustic panels for the walls and ceilings made the hall loud and echoey. It could be hard to hear customers or have conversations without shouting.

Overall, the venue seemed outdated and in much need of being upgraded. The cost of booth space leads me to think the venue is charging top-dollar, and is not delivering a top-dollar experience. I won't be working any other shows at...

Lackluster Dino Exhibit and Poor Toddler Area Management

Review: We took a trip down to the dinosaur exhibit at Rawhide with high hopes. We left feeling a little stiffed on what the animatronics were worth at the price of $30 per adult ticket. The sign promised to show something like a prehistoric adventure, but its figures were worn and by no means impressive. The material looked more suitable for a featured exhibit at a budget carnival.

Our family experience was further dampened by the disorganization in the toddler area.

One worrying event was in the toddler bounce house when my 2-year-old was shoved away by a larger kid. Second, in the play centers I was not able to play to the fullness with my son. Last but not least, the food here came very short of satisfying. The food vendors offered far less quality than one expects at such a venue. In short, the visit did not live up to the expense or expectation, and I cannot recommend the exhibit. We were hoping to have a family-friendly outing, but we left feeling like our time and our money could be better...