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We need to stop mixing government and professional sports. It usually ends up being a government welfare program for multimillion dollar professional sports teams. And of course us taxpayers get screwed in the process.
Cardinals could sue Glendale over loss of parking by Craig Harris - Apr. 9, 2012 09:46 PM The Republic | azcentral.com The Arizona Cardinals are accusing cash-strapped Glendale of financial mismanagement and could sue the city over the loss of parking for roughly 9,000 of the team's ticket-holders at Westgate City Center near University of Phoenix Stadium. Glendale, which has spent heavily to try to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in neighboring Jobing.com Arena, is working with the team on a solution to the dispute, Mayor Elaine Scruggs said. The Cardinals and the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, which manages the stadium, sent Glendale a four-page letter Monday seeking written assurances the parking problem would be addressed by May 1. If not, the letter said, legal action may follow. Representatives from the National Football League, the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, which landed the 2015 NFL title game in Glendale, and the Fiesta Bowl, a fellow stadium tenant, also signed the letter asking the city to keep past promises to tenants not to take away any nearby parking. "We're disappointed that the city has put us in this position and are asking for a detailed plan that demonstrates exactly how it will provide the required parking," said Ron Minegar, the team's executive vice president/chief operating officer. "We hope that an acceptable resolution can be worked out before it adversely affects our fans." The team does not specify the amount in financial damages it will incur if the lost parking is not replaced nearby. The team includes those parking spaces near Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue in ticket packages it markets to customers. The spaces have a value of at least $20 apiece per game, based on pricing of nearby parking that is not controlled by the city. Scruggs said she was "very disappointed" a resolution with the Cardinals has not been reached but was told by a senior city staffer last month that a short-term solution had been developed to make sure the parking problem was fixed by August, when the NFL preseason begins. Scruggs said the issue may be discussed today when the Glendale City Council meets in executive session. City managers had no comment on the situation. Scruggs did not have details on a solution. The team's demand letter said the city's potential solution for 2012 -- putting parking on other lands outside of Westgate -- would not comply with a parking covenant signed by all parties before the stadium was built. The team also says no credible long-term solution has been identified. Glendale in 2002 agreed to provide 6,000 parking spaces at Westgate for stadium events. The demand letter alleges it violated its agreement by allowing roughly 3,700 spaces to be demolished in February. The demolition took place so Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. could build an open-air mall on 38 acres at Westgate. Having taken those spaces, the city has yet to provide replacement parking in the retail development and remains out of compliance, according to the Cardinals. The demand letter also blames the parking problem on the city's dealings with Steve Ellman, Westgate's former developer and a one-time co-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes. The letter states that Ellman's relationship with the city has been "characterized by a lack of transparency." The letter raises questions about a January 2011 arrangement in which the city and Ellman equally split a $25 million escrow fund that had been earmarked to build a parking garage in Westgate, the team said. Ellman put that money in escrow in 2008 after failing to keep a promise to the city to provide a set amount of permanent parking in Westgate. By early 2011, half of that money went back to Ellman's lenders as part of a deal to try to keep the Coyotes in Glendale, while the city received the other $12.5 million in the account. Ellman did not return calls seeking comment. The Cardinals estimate that the cost to now build a parking garage next to the hockey arena is likely to approach $40 million. The deal to keep the Coyotes in town fell through, meanwhile, and Glendale ultimately gave the National Hockey League a $25 million subsidy at the end of last season to keep the team in Jobing.com Arena. The NHL purchased the Coyotes after Jerry Moyes, once a partner with Ellman, placed the team in bankruptcy protection in 2009. With the NHL still owning the team, the city in May will owe the league another $25 million to cover losses for this season. To fulfill this pledge, the city put $20 million in escrow but still needs to come up with $5 million. Because of costly negotiations to keep the Coyotes in Glendale, and because other parts of Westgate remain undeveloped and do not produce tax revenue, the city is hard pressed for solutions to the parking problem. The large payments to the NHL have drained the city's coffers, and Glendale may continue employee furloughs, sell assets or raise sales taxes in order to meet its obligations. Scruggs again said Monday that the city no longer can afford to subsidize the Coyotes at the same amount. She wants the NHL to work with the city to mitigate its coming $25 million payment |