Football, golf, resorts and desert weather make Arizona one of the Lions road trips that can turn into an actual vacation.
You can make this a quick football weekend, but Arizona gives you a pretty good reason not to. Add another day or two and the trip can include golf, pool time, Scottsdale, desert scenery and a Lions game before Detroit heads into its Week 6 bye.
Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, October 11, 2026
4:25 PM Eastern · 1:25 PM Arizona time
State Farm Stadium · Glendale, Arizona
FOX
That's probably the biggest thing to understand before booking Arizona. State Farm Stadium is in Glendale, while many of the resorts, golf courses, restaurants and nightlife people picture when they think about an Arizona getaway are spread across Scottsdale, Phoenix and other parts of the Valley.
Figure this out before choosing the hotel. Where you stay should match what you actually want to do besides going to the game.
Keep the trip simple, stay closer to Glendale and put convenience ahead of trying to squeeze everything Arizona offers into one weekend.
Give yourself enough time for at least one round and look at where the courses are before choosing the hotel. Golf can change which part of the Valley makes the most sense.
A Scottsdale or resort-style stay gives you more of the pool, restaurants and warm-weather getaway side of Arizona, with the Lions game becoming one part of the trip.
Add the extra days. Arizona is spread out, and trying to cram golf, sightseeing, restaurants, resort time and football into two nights defeats the purpose.
State Farm Stadium opened in 2006 and has one of the more unusual stadium designs in the NFL. It has both a retractable roof and a natural-grass playing field that can roll completely outside the building.
State Farm Stadium
1 Cardinals Drive · Glendale, Arizona
2006
63,400 fixed seats, with expansion available for larger events.
Retractable. The roof position for Cardinals games is determined on game day.
Natural grass on a retractable field tray that moves outside the stadium when it is not needed inside.
There isn't one right answer. The best hotel area depends on whether your priority is the game, golf, restaurants, nightlife or spending part of the weekend at a resort.
Best if game-day convenience is the priority. You'll be closer to State Farm Stadium and can keep Sunday simpler.
A stronger fit for golf, resorts, restaurants and nightlife. The tradeoff is a longer trip to and from the stadium.
A city-centered option with restaurants and entertainment that puts you between Glendale and the Scottsdale side of the metro area.
If pool time, golf and relaxing matter more than stadium proximity, choosing the resort first may make more sense than choosing the closest hotel to the game.
Phoenix, Scottsdale and Glendale are part of the same metro area, but that doesn't mean everything is right next to each other. The hotel choice and transportation plan need to work together.
If the group plans to golf, explore different areas or stay several days, having a car may make the trip easier.
This can work for a simpler trip, but don't assume every ride across the Valley will be quick or inexpensive.
Know how you're getting to State Farm Stadium before Sunday. Traffic and crowds around the stadium can change normal drive times.
Saving money on the room doesn't always save money on the trip if you end up spending more time and money getting everywhere else.
The game is Sunday afternoon and Detroit has a bye the following week. If you're already flying across the country, adding another day for golf, a resort or more time around Arizona can make a lot more sense than treating the trip like a normal two-night football weekend.
Arizona gives golfers plenty of choices, and one round can easily turn this from a football trip into a golf-and-Lions weekend.
You don't have to schedule every hour. If you're staying somewhere with a good pool or resort setup, leave some time to actually use it.
Arizona looks nothing like Michigan. Give yourself some time to get outside and see more than the highway between the airport, hotel and stadium.
Restaurants, shopping, golf and nightlife make Scottsdale an easy part of the trip even if you decide not to stay there.
The 1:25 PM local kickoff means this isn't a leisurely Sunday morning if you're staying on the other side of the Valley. Give yourself enough time to get to Glendale without turning the drive into the stressful part of the day.
The game is listed as 4:25 PM Eastern, but kickoff in Arizona is 1:25 PM local time.
Build in time for traffic, parking, walking and stadium entry instead of planning around a normal Sunday drive.
The stadium has a retractable roof, and its game-day position is determined based on conditions.
If you're staying in Scottsdale, Phoenix or a resort area, remember that your day isn't over when you leave the stadium—you still have the trip back across the Valley.
Decide whether this is mainly football, golf, a resort getaway or a combination before picking the hotel.
Check where the stadium, hotel, golf courses and other things you want to do actually are. Arizona can look much closer together on paper than it feels once you're driving it.
Golf, pool time, sightseeing and football can all fit—but not if you're trying to squeeze everything into every available hour.
Look beyond the nightly hotel rate. Transportation, parking, resort fees, golf and the number of nights all affect what the trip actually costs.
Arizona is one of the Lions trips I wouldn't automatically make a quick in-and-out weekend. If I'm already flying that far, I'd want to get something else out of the trip—play golf, stay somewhere with a good pool, spend some time in Scottsdale or just enjoy being in Arizona for a few days. The important part is choosing the hotel based on the trip you want, not just finding a room and figuring everything else out later.
Tell me who's going, how long you want to stay and whether you're thinking football, golf, resort time or a little of everything. I can help put the rest of the Arizona trip around the game.
Start Planning My Lions Road Trip →This is an independent fan-focused travel guide from Rob Sturdy Travels. It is not an official Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, NFL or State Farm Stadium page.