HOMETOWN HONORS: City Of Scottsdale Proclaims All Of January 2022 “Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction Month”

December 28, 2021
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Scottsdale Mayor David D. Ortega and Craig Jackson

The city of Scottsdale, Arizona, has been Barrett-Jackson’s home right from the early days in the 1960s when Tom Barrett and Russ Jackson staged a car show known as the Fiesta de los Autos Elegantes to raise funds for the local library and community arts center. When the car show concept evolved into the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, “The West’s Most Western Town” played host to the collector car auctions through 1977 when the event moved to Phoenix Municipal Stadium for a time.

It was Scottsdale Mayor Herb Drinkwater who lured Barrett-Jackson back to its original home after seeing immense potential in the northern portion of the city, where the 356-acre Horseman’s Park had been opened in 1982. Drinkwater took the Barrett and Jackson families to the area to explain his vision of making this beautiful part of the city at the foot of the McDowell Mountains the epicenter of world-class Scottsdale-based events.

Drinkwater’s persuasiveness worked. The first Barrett-Jackson Auction held in its new location at WestWorld of Scottsdale in 1989 drew a record 50,000 people and realized a sales volume of nearly $30 million. The company has never looked back, holding its flagship Scottsdale Auction there every year, attracting bidders from all 50 states and dozens of countries around the world – and bringing welcome revenue to the city from the thousands of fans who flock here each year.

Drinkwater was so grateful to Barrett-Jackson’s contribution to the community that he issued a proclamation in 1989 recognizing that special week in January was to be known as “Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction Week” – and thus began a tradition that every Scottsdale mayor since has honored. Later known as “Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction Week,” the proclamation recognizes the auction as an important tradition for the residents of Scottsdale, a premier event of its kind and applauds Barrett-Jackson for “creating a positive economic impact upon Scottsdale, the Valley of the Sun and the State of Arizona.”

As we fast-forward to 2022, with Barrett-Jackson commemorating 50 years of The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions, Scottsdale Mayor David D. Ortega (who assumed office in early 2021) has graciously amplified the annual proclamation. As the auction company looks to celebrate its golden anniversary, Mayor Ortega’s first Barrett-Jackson proclamation has declared the entire month of January 2022 as Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction Month.

“We have received tremendous support over the many years from the City of Scottsdale, beginning in the late 1960s when my father Russ and his business partner Tom Barrett first held the Fiesta de los Autos Elegantes,” said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. “We have continued to enjoy an incredible relationship with the City’s leadership over the years and we are proud to call Scottsdale our home. It is an honor to receive Mayor Ortega’s month-long proclamation, a first in our history, and we are thrilled to once again bring the national and international spotlight on Scottsdale for another exciting event as we celebrate 50 years of ‘The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions.’”