Tempe New Year’s Eve block party: A look back at the iconic NYE event

New Year’s Eve in the Valley is all about the party. But for nearly 30 years, one celebration loomed larger than the rest: Tempe’s New Year’s Eve block party on Mill Avenue.

From 1985 to 2014, the massive outdoor event became Arizona’s biggest New Year’s Eve draw. Streets shut down. Stages went up. Massive revelry ensued each year.

Tens of thousands packed Mill Avenue for a shared countdown that felt bigger, louder and more communal than anything else in the state. Tempe’s block parties were an inconic and beloved staple of New Year’s Eve in the Valley.

Originally launched as the Fiesta Bowl Block Party by the Mill Avenue Merchants Association, the annual New Year’s Eve blowout mixed national touring acts with hometown favorites. Bands like Styx, the Doobie Brothers and Blues Traveler headlined, as did Arizona-born band Gin Blossoms and Jimmy Eat World.

During the Tostitos years, a midnight chip drop capped the night, turning the final seconds of the year into a spectacle locals still talk about.

At its peak, Tempe’s New Year’s Eve block party pulled crowds topping 100,000 and drew national attention. Multiple promoters, sponsors and city partners helped make it happen over the years, including Scottsdale-based production company Entertainment Solutions, which worked on the event for more than two decades.

“It helped put Tempe on the map,” says Ken Koziol, the company’s co-owner.

Former Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman told Phoenix New Times the block parties were affairs to remember.

“They showcased the city on a national stage and what it could do,” Hallman says.

Tempe’s New Year’s Eve extravaganza also helped inspire similar block parties in downtown Phoenix and Scottsdale. None matched Tempe’s scale, staying power or draw.

Like most great parties, it eventually burned out. After the Fiesta Bowl left Sun Devil Stadium for Glendale in 2006, organizers chased new partnerships, including a stint with the Insight Bowl. By the early 2010s, the event shed its branding. The final Tempe New Year’s Eve block party took place in 2014, after Mill Avenue bar owners opted against closing the street again. Just like that, a Valley tradition went quiet.

Mill Avenue still lights up every Dec. 31, packed with bar-hoppers and late-night revelers. But for those who remember the stages, the chip drops and the shoulder-to-shoulder countdowns, nothing quite compares.

Here’s a look back at photos from Tempe’s New Year’s Eve block parties over the years.