Univ. of Phoenix Stadium Landlord May Be Out Of Money By October
 |
Stadium's Landlord May Be Unable
To Operate Facility Within Months |
The Arizona Sports & Tourism Authority (AZSTA), a taxpayer-funded agency that serves as the landlord of Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, is "so cash-strapped it will be unable to operate the 3-year-old NFL facility within months," according to AZSTA officials cited by Paul Giblin of the ARIZONA GUARDIAN. AZSTA lobbyist Jaime Molera indicated that unless the authority is "permitted to change its spending requirements, ... the lights at the 63,400-seat facility will go out in October." The AZTSA has "five major financial obligations: paying back the bonds used to build University of Phoenix Stadium, tourism promotion, paying bonds to build Cactus League baseball stadiums, creating youth and amateur sports facilities, and lastly, paying for operations" at Univ. of Phoenix Stadium. The authority is "funded largely through a 1[%] hotel tax and a 3.25[%] rental car tax in Maricopa County," and it "derives a portion of its funding from income taxes paid by Arizona workers, including millionaire athletes, employed by the NFL." But tax collections have "not grown at the rate projected when the authority was created." Giblin noted authority officials have been "pushing legislation that would have reduced the amount of money it is required to spend on tourism promotion and youth and amateur sports." But tourism industry lobbyist Barry Aarons said that such legislation "shortchanges the tourism sector and amateur sports." Molera said that AZSTA officials will "have to do a better job of explaining to lawmakers and other stakeholders that without a change, the authority could be out of money" by the October 11 Texans-Cardinals game. Molera also said that Fiesta Bowl officials "balked at the idea of the Cardinals picking up more of the expenses to operate the stadium because they fear the Cardinals would want more control of the facility" (ARIZONAGUARDIAN.com, 6/17).
PLAYING DOWN CONCERNS: Cardinals VP/Media Relations Mark Dalton indicated that the team has been "aware of the Authority's problems for some time." Dalton: "It's not necessarily a new development. The economic challenges that are facing AZSTA are much like those that are facing a lot of state agencies. It's something we've all been aware of for some time now and something we've all been working to address." Dalton said there are a "number of alternatives that are being discussed to come up with some solutions." Dalton: "We're hopeful to reach a solution as quickly as we can." Dalton added that the Cardinals are "not worried that the stadium might be shut down" (KTAR.com, 6/18).
|
Related Stories By Company
|
Related Stories By Sport
|
NFL Cards' Concession Revenue Examined
August 10, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
NFL Teams Still Dealing With Social Networks
August 10, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Cards' Stadium Now Seeks Concession Bids
July 21, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
NFL Cards Could Operate Concessions
July 16, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Forbes Unveils Fastest-Growing Team Brands
May 15, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
Bills Owner Prepared To Make Big Changes
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Bears Deny Rift With NBC
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
MSFC Threatens Vikings With Penalties
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Gruden Committed To Improving On "MNF"
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Obama To Appear In PSA With Three NFLers
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
|
