About Peoria, Arizona 

Peoria is a dynamic desert community of more than 150,000 people northwest of Phoenix.

The onetime farming community founded by settlers from Illinois was one of the nation’s fastest ­growing cities during the recent growth boom. The city stretches across 176 square miles of beautiful Sonoran desert and includes Lake Pleasant, the state's second largest lake.

The Peoria Sports Complex, built in 1994 as spring training home to the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners, was the first two-team spring training facility in the country.

Peoria boasts other award-winning facilities including the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts and Rio Vista Community Park and Recreation Center. Those attractions - along with 35 miles of trails, top-notch schools, well-planned residential neighborhoods and an enticing variety of shopping, dining and entertainment options - led Money magazine to rank Peoria among its 100 "Best Places to Live" in 2008.