A years-long fight over parking among Glendale, the Cardinals and the owners of Univ. of Phoenix Stadium yesterday "ended when city leaders agreed" to a $17M payment and the construction of new lots, according to Jessica Boehm of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The settlement agreement, which "narrowly passed, establishes a permanent parking solution at the stadium." Glendale "agreed to provide 11,000 parking spaces in the Westgate Entertainment District area" under a '03 contract with the Cardinals and Arizona Sports & Tourism Authority, which owns and operates the stadium. Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps said, "There [were] a number of flawed relationships, but that was probably the most visible one for the city." Boehm notes the city has "spent around $700,000 per year leasing additional Westgate Entertainment District spaces and shuttling fans from an offsite city-owned property to fulfill its parking obligation." The parking lot improvements are "expected to cost" $10.5M, which is included in the city's budget. In addition to the two new lots, an "additional 2,789 Westgate parking spaces will become available during NFL games and other major events." Those parking spaces still "don't total the required 11,000, but the Cardinals and Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority agreed to decrease the number of spots in the settlement." Phelps said that the ASTA "intends to spend the money on stadium improvements." Most notably, between $6-8M likely will "go to widen the stadium's southern entrances, which will experience more crowds because of the new parking lot" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/15).
