09/01/2026
Fiesta Mall was basically the soundtrack to my teenage years.
If you grew up in the East Valley in the ā90s, you KNOW.
5-7-9. Musicland. KB Toys. Wandering around the mall for absolutely no reason. Meeting your friends there because...where else were we going to go?
So itās still a little wild to me that the entire thing is gone.
And whatās being proposed for that land now is even wilder.
The 80-acre site at Southern and Alma School could eventually become the Palo District, a $2.5 BILLION redevelopment.
And weāre not talking about another shopping center.
Current plans call for a 25,000-seat enclosed soccer stadium, two hotels, housing, restaurants, retail, offices and a $100 million womenās health and sports campus.
The developers are also trying to bring a professional womenās soccer team to Mesa.
And before somebody comes for me in the comments:
No, Mesa has NOT officially been awarded an NWSL team.
The city has approved a development agreement for the site, but a project this massive still has plenty of hurdles before everything you see in the renderings becomes reality.
And judging by the comments on my last Fiesta Mall post, some of you would rather they just rebuild the mall.
Trust me, I get it.
I spent a ridiculous amount of my youth there.
But Iāve also lived here long enough to watch places I knew as a kid disappear and become something completely different.
And honestly? Thatās one of the most fascinating things about living in the Valley right now.
What would YOU put on the old Fiesta Mall site if you had the final say?
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š Hi, Iām Kelly Wilson-Prior with Mister Rogers Homes at West USA Realty. Iām a Gilbert Mom, REALTORĀ® & Relocation Specialist and your guide to Arizona living.
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