Critics of Prop 302 in AZ claim a campaign, which
includes funding for a $335M NFL Cardinals stadium, is
"deceptive, [and] an attempt to hide a taxpayer-financed
stadium behind soccer fields and basketball courts,"
according to Shaun McKinnon of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC, who
wrote that ads concentrate on "tourism promotion, Cactus
League assistance and, especially, youth and amateur sports
-- the parts of a $1.8B package considered an easier sell."
However, polls show that Prop 302 "has gained favor with the
ramp-up" of the ad campaign, as supporters and opponents
"now are evenly split." AZ Pop Warner Football Commissioner
Vicki Gamby said, "A lot of mothers ... thought it was just
the Cardinals. I think we've turned around a lot of people.
It's all been very positive because everybody wants to see
children succeed" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/30). A commercial
in support of Prop 302 ran "several times" on the big screen
at Sunday's Saints-Cardinals game (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/30).
GETTING THE WORD OUT: In Dallas, Evan Grant writes that
the MLB Rangers and Royals announced their "intentions to
move" into a two-team spring-training facility in the
Phoenix suburb of Surprise at a press conference "designed
to gain support for Prop 302 by highlighting its economic
impact beyond" the new stadium for the Cardinals. The teams
will relocate from FL (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/31).
