AZ Gov. Jane Hull "has asked members of her staff" to
help work on alternatives to the failed Rio Salado Crossing
project for the NFL Cardinals, according to Richard Ruelas
of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Hull's Press Secretary Francie
Noyes: "She is happy to look at alternative proposals, but
by no means has she set herself up as the central thing."
Noyes: "[Hull] understands the contribution the Cardinals
make to the state and she's asked people on staff to work
with all the other people working on alternatives" (ARIZONA
REPUBLIC, 5/23). The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Mitchell &
Lombardo report that a "land deal with one of two Indian
tribes near Phoenix and Scottsdale could put a new NFL
stadium in the East Valley and keep the Cardinals in
Arizona." Sources said a deal with either the Salt River
Pima-Maricopa Indian Community or Gila River Indian
Community "is quickly becoming the lead option" for a new
stadium. Officials with both communities "denied being
contacted" by the Cardinals, but a deal with either tribe is
"promising" because their land adjoins either Phoenix or
Scottsdale (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/24 issue). In
Phoenix, Steve Schoenfeld wrote that the Cardinals "aren't
going to wait around forever" for a new stadium.
Schoenfeld: "Without plans for one in the Valley by the end
of next season, the team could begin to look elsewhere"
(ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/23). An ARIZONA REPUBLIC editorial:
"The Cardinals have established themselves. ... They are, in
a word, on the threshold of respectability. ... Perhaps the
NFL might want to loan the Cardinals money just as it has
for the New England Patriots" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/22).
