The new Arizona Cardinals stadium may not be ready for the 2004 football season after local pressures forced the state Tourism and Sports Authority to extend the renewed site selection process last week.
The deadline to submit site proposals was extended to Dec. 14 from the TSA's initial deadline of Nov. 23. Interested cities complained about the initial deadline that had given them less than a week to prepare proposals.
In addition, the deadline to have a site chosen was pushed more than two months, with a decision slated for mid-February, not the original Dec. 21 deadline.
Ted Ferris, president and CEO of the TSA, said it is not clear what the impact of the extended site selection schedule will be.
"Making it for any part of the 2004 season will be extremely difficult," he said. "We are hoping to still be able to host the 2005 Fiesta Bowl."
Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano said with the extended deadline, the City Council would have the time to examine a variety of sites to determine the best locations to submit to the selection process.
"We can take a couple of more weeks to review the situation and discuss a possible partnership with ASU and talk to Mesa about a joint site that we have discussed," Giuliano said. "The time extension is very helpful to us as we would obviously like to retain the Fiesta Bowl and the NFL Cardinals. It is a case of business retention for us."
ASU officials have said the University would only consider allowing its land to be used for a site if Tempe would replace all ASU land used for the stadium with other land adjacent to the main campus and if it could have a significant say in the stadium's use and operations.
Although the proposed Cardinals stadium site near Washington Street and Center Parkway was deemed a potential flight hazard by the Federal Aviation Administration, Giuliano said the city still had several alternative sites to offer.
Giuliano added the city is looking at the area east of Rural Road and north and south of Rio Salado Parkway to submit as a possible stadium site.
The Tempe City Council's unanimous decision Wednesday to settle the city's lawsuit against the developer Ciudad del Lago could leave the former Peabody Hotel site open to future development.
Ciudad del Lago was slated to develop the 29-story Peabody Hotel along Tempe Town Lake but was later unable to finance the project.
Giuliano said the resolution of the Peabody conflict frees a prime location for the new Cardinals stadium, located at the southeast corner of the lake.
Giuliano said he remains optimistic about Tempe's chances of winning the stadium site again.
"We've competed once and we were successful, and we think we will be successful again," Giuliano said.
During a council meeting Wednesday, Councilman Dennis Cahill said he did not support building the stadium in Tempe, citing it as a waste of the taxpayer's money to support a stadium for the elite.
"The state of Arizona reeks of low paying jobs," Cahill said. "How can I expect the taxpayers of Tempe to support a stadium when they have no insurance for their jobs?"
Last week, the TSA sent letters to all developers and land owners who participated in the initial site selection process as well as other Valley cities who have expressed interest in participating in the backup site selection.
Among the site evaluation factors the TSA will look at are the site's location, the amount of acreage, the potential for surrounding development and the closeness of freeway transportation.
Ferris said the best alternative site for the now defunct Tempe location would be a place where there would be a demand for stadium use even when football was not being played.
"The successful site will be free of any known defects and no aviation or environmental concerns," he said.
Reach Dana Brody at dana5286@aol.com. Reach Vedatrayee C. Banerjee at ctitam@hotmail.com.
