Satisfaction Way: Glendale renames street for Rolling Stones concert at State Farm Stadium

Glendale, Arizona, is taking a page from its Taylor Swift playbook.

The city is ceremonially renaming a portion of 95th Avenue in Westgate Entertainment District Satisfaction Way in honor of the Rolling Stones' concert on Tuesday, May 7, at State Farm Stadium.

On Monday, April 15, Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers proclaimed May 7 to be Ruby Tuesday. He read the proclamation at a news conference that featured students from the School of Rock getting their ya-ya’s out on a cover of “Sympathy for the Devil.”

The mayor then boarded a cherry picker and was lifted up to uncover the Satisfaction Way sign.

Unlike any other street sign in the city, this one has the "Hackney Diamonds" update of the Stones' iconic tongue-and-lips logo.

Why Glendale is renaming a street for the Rolling Stones

If you're wondering why they're making all this fuss around a concert by the Rolling Stones in 2024, there are several reasons.

“This is the first act ever to bring three separate stadium tours to State Farm Stadium and Glendale,” City Manager Kevin Phelps says.

Plus, as city spokeswoman Sue Breding notes, they are "the world's great rock 'n' roll band."

Phelps himself is a bit of a Stones fan, having seen one of their earliest stadium shows in 1981 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

“When you think about how long ago 1981 was, I think it’s remarkable just the longevity and the fact that they’ve been able to span multiple generations of the same family who follow the music,” Phelps says. “I think it’s really unique.”

Mayor Weiers was thrilled to be involved in honoring the Rolling Stones.

"I grew up with the Stones," he says.

"I don’t think there’s too many people alive who don’t know who the Rolling Stones are. And whether you love them or not, you can’t argue the fact that they are one of the most — if not the most — popular rock ‘n’ roll bands ever. They cut across a lot of different groups of people. And how do you not like a guy who’s still performing more than 60 years later. It’s pretty incredible."

The Stones last played the stadium in 2019, a sold-out date on their No Filter Tour.

State Farm Stadium general manager Andy Gorchov says, "We are thrilled to be hosting The Rolling Stones for a third time. This marks another exciting addition to our lineup of prestigious events, reaffirming our commitment to delivering unforgettable experiences to fans.”

The Rolling Stones agreed to Glendale using their iconic logo

The Rolling Stones were very agreeable to allowing the city to use their logo on the sign for Satisfaction Way, which stretches from Camelback Road to Glendale Avenue.

“When I first got to Glendale, we typically would try to reach out to artists coming in and we would have to do a lot of arm-twisting just to get them involved in any kind of additional promotion or opportunity,” Phelps says.

That’s before the Swift City campaign the city rolled out in honor of Taylor Swift launching The Eras Tour with two performances at State Farm Stadium in 2023, for which the city won a national marketing award.

Ruby Tuesday will be celebrated all along Satisfaction Way. You've got the concert to the south, of course. But on the north end, merchants in the Westgate Entertainment District will have special Ruby Tuesday offerings, ranging from Pour Some Brown Sugar on Me Wings at Shane’s Rib Shack to Paint it Black punch at Johnny’s Chicken & Waffles.

Phelps says the city has been very “entrepreneurial” in how it tries to leverage these opportunities.

“I think it’s important to understand why we’re doing this,” Phelps says. “The main reason is that there’s been this shift from just being a concert to now being an event. And that event is now going longer. People are staying in hotel rooms overnight.

"So part of what we’re doing, having fun with promoting the artist coming to Glendale, is just to remind them this is special, take some time off of work, come in and don’t just spend a few hours but maybe spend a few days here in Glendale.”

Glendale has done similar campaigns for Guns N' Roses, Taylor Swift

The first campaign Phelps recalls doing was for a Guns N’ Roses concert in 2016. Glendale renamed itself Paradise City for that one.

At the time, he recalls, “it was hard to get the band and the manager engaged in that campaign.”

How does the city go about deciding when a concert rises to the level that suggests this type of campaign?

“We’re looking for that unique component to it,” Phelps says. “State Farm Stadium has been very successful the past couple years at bringing a whole host of artists that have filled up the stadium.”

'You don't want to hand out a thousand keys to the city'

There needs to be an angle, whether it’s a tour launch or the Stones becoming the first band to bring three separate tours to State Farm Stadium.

“You can go to the well too often,” Phelps says. “You don’t want to hand out a thousand keys to the city.

"But I would say this: We probably won’t force-feed what we can do as a city to help promote an event. It’s going to take a partnership with us and the artist and their management.”

The Stones were willing to lean into it and get creative, including allowing the use of their iconic lips logo.

“That really showed us that they were willing to assist us and it wasn’t just, ‘What can you do for us?’" Phelps said.

"It was, ‘How can we help you really have some fun with this?’ I think in the future, we’ll need to have that kind of partner. And then as long as we continue to show success with these types of campaigns, I think it’ll be easier to get the artist engaged.”

How Satisfaction Way is helping Glendale build its brand

To Phelps, this represents a long-term vision for the future of the city.

“This is helping the city of Glendale to build its brand around the Entertainment District,” Phelps says. “We’re putting this effort in to help our merchants and our hotels in the area really leverage what we’re doing. I’m just fortunate to have a really creative team in our media department that really thinks out of the box on this stuff.”

The Rolling Stones' Hackney Diamonds Tour comes to Glendale on Tuesday, May 7. Doors open at 6 p.m. Music starts at 8.

State Farm Stadium is a cashless venue with a clear bag policy. Tickets are available at SeatGeek.com.

Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rolling Stones get a street named for them in Arizona