Initially "too close to call," Prop. 302, which would
help fund a new facility for the NFL Cardinals, finally
"floated to the top," according to Lee Shappell of the
ARIZONA REPUBLIC, who writes that supporters had to wait
more than a week for the absentee and contested ballots to
be processed by Maricopa County election officials. The
measure carried with just under 52% of the vote. Cardinals
Owner Bill Bidwill said, "It very definitely is worth the
wait." Cardinals President Michael Bidwill said that with
the new stadium opening for the '04 season, the team will
pursue the next available Super Bowl, in '07. The team also
announced that the press box in the new stadium will be
named in memory of the late Steve Schoenfeld, who was the
Cardinals beat writer at one point. While many felt the
team's future was tied to approval of Prop. 302, Bill
Bidwill said, "Not necessarily, but I can't answer that
because I don't know. I do know that I didn't want to go
through what we would have had to have gone through if it
hadn't passed. We're glad we're still here" (AZ REPUBLIC,
11/16). Bidwill denied that he would have moved the team if
it had failed: "We would have sat back for some time and
considered how to [build a stadium]" (AP, 11/16).
NEXT STEP: FSAZ's Matt Morrison reported, "The passing
of [Prop. 302] should go a long way toward helping the
Cardinals on the field for some time to come. An afternoon
gathering at the Cardinals facility served as a victory
celebration of sorts on the stadium measure, and the team
began rolling out the blueprints of their plans as Maricopa
County gets set to move forward." Bill Bidwill: "The fans
have been just great to us here. We'd like to have a few
more of them from time to time, but the hard-core and the
nucleus that we have has been responsive" (FSN AZ, 11/15).
