The NFL Cardinals claim they "can't stretch beyond" the
$75M capital contribution the team had pledged for a new
stadium "without cutting into its ability to build a winning
team in the high-priced world of free agency," according to
Nena Baker of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The team stated that if
it was "required to ante up more," a tentative stadium deal
would collapse. The AZ House approved stadium bill that
raises the team's stadium capital contribution to $170.5M
and forces it "to relinquish" naming rights moves to the
Senate this week. Baker: "Lawmakers have made it clear
they're willing to risk watching the Cards flee the Valley
for greener pastures and put the top-tier status of the
Fiesta Bowl at risk if it means ponying up a public subsidy
for the stadium plan. It's up to the [AZ] Senate to find
any common ground between politicians and pro football." AZ
legislators felt "that the Cardinals are playing a shell
game," offering an amount of money the franchise can "easily
recoup" through stadium naming rights and an NFL subsidy.
The Cardinals and the NFL "maintain that their plan is the
most innovative" NFL stadium deal negotiated in the past ten
years. Beyond a stadium, the team and league said that the
plan "benefits a wide range of activities" while allocating
85% of the overall cost to hotel and car-rental taxes.
Cardinals lobbyist Steve Betts said that other amendments,
such as one calling for bringing AZ schools up to minimum
standards before stadium financing can proceed, "may be
areas where compromise is possible" (AZ REPUBLIC, 3/19).
