Fiesta Bowl officials want to “move its 2012 game at Glendale's University of Phoenix Stadium from Jan. 5 to Jan. 2 to improve its television ratings and encourage more out-of-state fans to visit” the Phoenix area, according to Craig Harris of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. But to “get the deal done, the bowl needs support from" the Cardinals, who are scheduled to play their final NFL regular-season game Jan. 1 at 2:15pm PT at the stadium. The Fiesta Bowl “wants the Jan. 2 kickoff because most people are not working that day.” Cardinals VP/Media Relations Mark Dalton said that he “believes the team would have to waive part of its stadium rights for crews to begin transforming the facility immediately after the NFL game for the Fiesta Bowl.” He added the team is "certainly happy to explore ways to make it happen." Harris notes even if the Cardinals “throw their support behind moving up the Fiesta Bowl game, there will be an issue with the NFL.” If the Seahawks-Cardinals game “has playoff implications, the NFL could seek to improve TV viewership by changing the kickoff to later that evening, leaving crews even less time to prepare the stadium for a bowl game.” BCS Exec Dir Bill Hancock said that the BCS “originally did not schedule games the evening of Jan. 2 because it thought the NFL would need that date for ‘Monday Night Football,’ expecting the professional season to be extended because of a player lockout.” Hancock noted that “with a labor deal reached this summer, the NFL season began on time and that date opened for a BCS game” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/17).
