Three of FORTUNE magazine's "Fortune 1000" companies are headquartered in Phoenix, including the electrical company Avnet, the Apollo Group (which operates the University of Phoenix) and the mining company Phelps Dodge Corporation. Honeywell has several plants in Phoenix producing military-grade engines and a corporate gateway. Intel has one of the largest R&D centers in Arizona in Phoenix, with approximately 11,000 employees and three chip assembly line FABs, including the $3 billion 300mm, 45nm FAB 32. American Express has its clearinghouse, customer service center, and full website in Phoenix. In addition, Tempe is home to the headquarters of US Airways, a Fortune 500 company. Another Fortune 500 company, Allied Waste Industries, Inc. is headquartered in nearby Scottsdale, and is the second-largest non-hazardous solid waste disposal company in the United States.
The U.S. military also has the famous Luke Air Force Base in the western suburbs of Phoenix. At one point in the 1940s, as mentioned earlier, Phoenix had three military bases.
The Sault Ste. Marie Valley served as an irrigated agricultural area, producing cotton, vegetables, citrus, oil olives, and grapes. Most of the agricultural products were distributed and processed in Phoenix. Major industries include aluminum refining, cotton ginning, aircraft parts, electronic computers, etc., as the state's industrial center. An important transportation hub, the intersection of national and interstate highways, the Southern Pacific Railroad passes through the city, and the international airport is located in the southeastern suburbs. The city enjoys warm, sunny winters, making it an excellent place to escape the cold and recuperate. Tourism is strong. The downtown Civic Plaza is the center of city meetings and cultural events. Nearby are the State Capitol, the State Mining Building and the city's tallest building, the 40-story Bank Building. There are many hotels, villas and entertainment venues. There are eight schools of higher education in the city, including Grand Canyon University and the American Indian College. On the outskirts of the city are the Desert Botanical Garden and the Haw. There are also the Desert Botanical Garden and the Hohokam Indian Ruins. The city is home to the Desert Botanical Garden and the Hohokam Indian Ruins. Sports and Athletics Phoenix has many professional sports clubs, including clubs from all four major American sports leagues. The best known of these is the Phoenix Suns, founded in 1968. In 1997, the Phoenix Mercury were one of the eight founding clubs of the WNBA, and both teams have their home games at the US Airways Center. The Phoenix Flames began playing in March 2007 in the International Basketball Association.
The Arizona Cardinals moved to Phoenix from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1988 and are now the West Division entry in the National Football League's National Federation of American Football. The team has actually never played in Phoenix, playing at the University of Arizona's Sun Devil Stadium near Tempe until 2006; since then it has played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. University of Phoenix Stadium will be the home stadium for Super Bowl XLII in 2008.
Phoenix is also home to a fence American soccer team, the Arizona Rattlers of the Fence American Football League. Their home field is the US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix.
The Phoenix Coyotes, which moved to Phoenix in 1996, play in the National Hockey League and have their home field at Jobing.com Arena, which is near University of Phoenix Stadium. Phoenix also has a field hockey team that plays in the minor leagues: the Phoenix Walking Cuckoos, with their home arena located at the US Airways Center. Phoenix is one of the few cities to have both minor and major league teams in the same program.
The Arizona Rattlers, who play Major League Baseball, competed as an expansion team in 1998, with their home field located at Chase Stadium. In 2001, the team defeated the New York Yankees 4-3 in the World Championship, thus becoming not only the first Phoenix city to win a national championship, but also the youngest expansion team to win a national all-conference title.
In addition, because of the pleasant climate, nine Major League Baseball teams conduct spring training in the Phoenix metropolitan area or near Tucson. These teams are sometimes collectively referred to as the "Cactus League."
Phoenix International Raceway is also one of two major tracks in the National Racing Federation. Boat runs, truck runs and road races also take place at Firebird International Raceway. Spring auto racing takes place at Shortwood Speedway.
Phoenix was also the home of the bowl game until 2005, after which its relocated to Tempe on the left. Similar games are played at several golf tournaments, such as the LPGA's Safeway International and The Tradition tournament. Phoenix was originally the site of the 2006 National Hockey League All-Star Game, but the game was forced to be canceled due to the 2006 Winter Olympics. Phoenix will host the 2009 National Hockey League All-Star Game.
The Phoenix Ahwatukee American Little League participated in the 2006 Little League World Championships as the representative of the U.S. West Region. Phoenix is also one of three cities eligible to host the annual PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon.