'The Bachelor' Arie is from Scottsdale, but you'd never know it

It may be the most important part of ABC's thrice-annual spectacle of everything that has nothing to do with finding true love, "The Bachelor": hometown dates.

The episodes near the end of the season known as "hometowns" mark a turning point in the show, which features a bachelor or bachelorette choosing a future mate by process of elimination.

In hometowns, the contestants stop dating in large groups and 30-second interview-like conversations, and start doing something that resembles dating. They meet one another's families and spend uninterrupted time together over lavish meals and boozy drinks. 

And so it might have been with great anticipation that this year's bachelor, Arie Luyendyk Jr., brought one of the women on the show to his nominal hometown of Scottsdale early in season. It was an early look at his hometown, a sneak peek. 

They drove through the city, speeding by the iconic "Most Livable City" sign.

They relived his teenage years, stopping by an old Pizza Hut.

They toured his alma mater, Desert Mountain High School, and saw the principal's office. 

They visited his parents' home in Fountain Hills, which, for those keeping score, is not in Scottsdale.

Then, they got on a plane and headed back to Los Angeles.

At which point Bachelor nation would have been excused if they had taken to their collective Twitter accounts to ask: That was it? 

Indeed, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Luyendyk's season on the show always seems to point the audience away from — rather than toward — Scottsdale and Arizona.

Monday's finale seems likely to pass with nary a Grand Canyon vista nor Valley resort cabana-bash scene in an entire season with a Scottsdale bachelor.

By the end of it all, Arizona might find itself asking the same question mouthed by every teary-eyed, rejected contestant ever whisked away in the back seat of a limo: Why?

Arie's Scottsdale roots

"The Bachelor" producers embraced Luyendyk's "race-car driver" persona throughout the season, planning dates with racing undertones and generously airing footage of the ex-driver at the raceway.

Yet his day job is as an agent for a Re/max Excalibur, a Scottsdale-based real estate company selling homes across the state.

There's no on-air time of his Scottsdale office throughout the season, though while the show was airing, he did mention his day job had become a little awkward.

RELATED: Arie Luyendyk Jr.: Being the 'Bachelor' made day job 'a little awkward'

His father, Luyendyk Sr., is more famous for his racing career. The senior Luyendyk is a two-time Indy 500 champion and was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2014.

Luyendyk Jr. competed for eight seasons from 2002 and 2010 in the Indy Lights Series and competed in the 2006 Indy 500, finishing 28th. 

No surprise, the racing puns were aplenty throughout the show.

“This is the most important race of my life,” Luyendyk says in the first episode.

Ahead of the season airing, Luyendyk expressed some of his concerns, his hopes and his ideal woman.

"I just really wanted someone ... who is ready for marriage, who had had somewhat of a past and they knew what they wanted in a partner as much as I knew what I wanted in a partner," Luyendyk said during a Dec. 14 call with ABC.

During that same call, Luyendyk remarked that the show would not include an episode featuring his Scottsdale hometown.

That would turn out to be untrue.

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Scottsdale: A winter wonderland?

If the "The Bachelor" franchise is known for one thing, it's the romantic destinations. A few weeks into filming, the show relocates from its Los Angeles mansion and travels across the country and internationally.

In episode 4, the gang of girls and Luyendyk headed to Lake Tahoe for several outdoors dates, including horseback riding through the mountainside and wilderness training in the snow.

On one of the snowy dates, Luyendyk remarks: “I love doing anything outdoors. That’s why I love Scottsdale.”

It seemed like an odd comment given their setting: metro Phoenix hasn't gotten much precipitation all winter, let alone any snow. The nearest snow, just a dusting this year, is several hours north. 

True, Scottsdale does have the luxury of warmer temperatures during months when the rest of the nation braces for freezing weather. Scottsdale's optimal, not-too-hot spring weather is a popular setting for events like the Barrett-Jackson car auction and the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Maybe that's what Luyendyk meant.

Arizona: Strike.

In episode 5, the women moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where a group headed to the bowling alley for some light competition.

There, Luyendyk said: “In Arizona, if we want to have fun, we go bowling.”

That didn’t go over well.

Don’t mind the many hiking trails across the Valley, the various major sports teams, the lively downtown scenes or even the state’s main claim to fame, the Grand Canyon.

Arizona's image took a beating after that remark.

While locals might know the closest Brunswick or AMF, it's a stretch to call Arizona a bowling state.

In fact, Arizona has close to the lowest number of bowling alleys in the country, according to 2015 data from the Census County Business Partners.

The lowest was Miami-Dade County in southeastern part of Florida, standing at just 0.11 bowling centers per capita. Comparatively, Greeley County in Kansas ranked at the top with 75 bowling centers per capita.

In Arizona, Maricopa County — which includes Scottsdale — ranked at just 0.65.

The highest Arizona county listed at just over 10 bowling centers per capita.

The bottom line: Arizona is not a hotbed for bowling alleys.

MAP IT: The most popular states for bowling

Hometown letdown

In each episode of the 10-week season, a card determines who's next up for a date with the leading man. The number of women listed on the "date card" can vary: a group, a two-on-one, a solo card holder.

In episode 2, fitness coach Krystal Nielson nabbed a one-on-one date card, earning her coveted alone time.

Nielson arrived at an airport where Luyendyk greeted her with a red carpet leading to a private plane. He told her the two were headed to his hometown: Scottsdale.

They arrived in the city and drove around for awhile. Luyendyk pointed out an old Pizza Hut where he used to work at as a teen. The couple took a private tour of his high school. 

“There’s the principal office … I spent some time there,” he joked.

Then the two toured his house — not surprisingly decorated with race-car helmets — looked through family photos in his living room and watched embarrassing home videos of Luyendyk as a kid.

The two headed to Fountain Hills to meet Luyendyk's mother, father, brother, sister-in-law and the family dog at his parents' home. They made small talk about Luyendyk's life growing up and the challenges of marriage.

And that's it.

Then the two come back to Los Angeles for a romantic dinner. Even though the most romantic restaurant in America —according to Yelp — was right there in Scottsdale.

No signs of the Phoenix raceway, no glimpse of the Grand Canyon, no shots of the Mission, North or La Grande Orange, all dining spots Luyendyk says he favors.

There's been no sign of Scottsdale for the rest of the season. Luyendyk's parents are teased to make an appearance in the last episode, likely to give him advice on his final choice.

As always, it's hard to draw too many conclusions about what happens off-camera during the show. Maybe something was lost in the editing. Maybe Luyendyk was sworn to secrecy about his hometown roots.

Or maybe he really is just an average guy from Scottsdale.

As he said before the show began, "I'm open... as far as moving to another place." 

Agnel Philip contributed to this article. Reach the reporter on Twitter at @agnel88_philip.

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