Glendale officials have been "working behind the scenes to repair the rift between the city" and the NFL before Super Bowl XLIX in '15, but "little progress has been made," according to Paul Giblin of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee execs "canceled a planned dinner meeting" for yesterday among Glendale officials and NFL execs "who were scheduled to be in town this weekend to tour venues for Super Bowl-related events." Glendale Exec Communications Dir and interim Assistant City Manager Julie Frisoni said that host-committee execs "specifically told Glendale officials that they called off the dinner because NFL executives felt that there are unresolved issues with the city." NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said that currently "only two non-game events are scheduled to be held in the city." NFL execs are "concerned about three major issues involving Glendale: access to thousands of parking spaces near the stadium, Glendale hoteliers' reluctance to join the Super Bowl’s official room bloc and a general lack of leadership by municipal officials." Glendale officials on Oct. 22 "met with host-committee executives" and Cardinals President Michael Bidwill at the team's Tempe HQs "to assuage the matter, yet the relationship remains fractured." Bidwill on Friday said, "In the last two weeks, they've taken some initial steps in the right direction." He added, "I hope they continue to step up because the lack of participation prior to the last couple of weeks has had ramifications. They were told it would have ramifications" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/10).
