ASU-Cards Dispute Costing School; Cuts Likely If Team Wins

ASU Reallocating Resources For Legal Battle

AZ State Univ. (ASU) has spent almost $500,000 defending itself against the NFL Cardinals in a "nasty legal dispute over sign revenue at Sun Devil Stadium," according to Craig Harris of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. ASU AD Gene Smith said, "We will have to re-allocate resources in order to fund the lawsuit." Smith yesterday would not specify "which cuts would occur, but he has said staff and athletic programs would be eliminated if the Cardinals win their suit." Meanwhile, ASU "has softened its stance on whether the" Cardinals were "damaged after ASU flooded Sun Devil Stadium with" 31 new permanent sponsorship signs in '99, saying that the Cardinals "could be entitled to $258,482." But that is a "fraction of the nearly $12[M] the Cardinals are seeking." The Cardinals said that they "lost prime real estate and were unable to sell sponsorships," when ASU's signage went up. Cardinals Dir of PR Paul Jensen said that ASU "capitalized on the success of the Cardinals when the team went to the playoffs in 1998." Jensen: "It is no coincidence this (sponsorship signs) occurred in 1999, after we went to the playoffs" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/11).