The NFL Cardinals and the Arizona Sports & Tourism Authority, which operates Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, on Wednesday “delivered a notice of claim" to the city of Glendale "seeking up to $66.7 million to replace the lost parking with garages, unless an acceptable solution is found,” according to Lisa Halverstadt of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The claim, a “precursor to a lawsuit, follows two April letters to the city that laid out the team's and sports authority's concerns that parking demolished in February to build the 38-acre Tanger Factory Outlets complex could not be replaced.” Glendale had a deadline of Tuesday “to provide assurances that parking spaces at Westgate City Center would be replaced,” and the claim stated that the city “never responded.” The Cardinals began playing at Univ. of Phoenix Stadium in '06, and an agreement “signed four years earlier required Glendale to provide 6,000 spots for football games and other stadium events at Westgate.” City Attorney Craig Tindall said that the parking agreement “requires the 6,000 spots be available only about two months before the first football game.” He said that the first Cardinals game is set for Aug. 17, and the city “is working to have an answer for the Cardinals within weeks” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/3). In Phoenix, Dan Bickley writes some think the Cardinals organization is “acting like a bully,” but Bickley “can't blame the Cardinals on this one.” They have “evolved from a bungling franchise to a team that has sold out 63 consecutive games in Glendale,” and along the way, “they've become pioneers in consumer relations” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/4).
