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Guarded optimism Cardinals wait for official word on stadium vote
Updated: Thursday November 09, 2000 9:41 AM
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- The Arizona Cardinals are awaiting the final count before celebrating voter approval of funds for a long-sought stadium. The Associated Press declared Proposition 302 had passed late Tuesday night, but Arizona Wins, the organization backing the measure, was holding off declaring victory Wednesday while the last 130,000 votes are counted. That process might not be completed until early next week. As of Wednesday morning, the "yes" votes outnumber the "no" votes by 21,617, or 51 percent to 49 percent. The remaining ballots include 45,000 that are being questioned for various reasons and 90,000 that were absentee ballots submitted Tuesday.
"We're not ready to claim victory yet, but we still feel real good about the way the campaign peaked and the way it was trending," said Michael Bidwill, the team's vice president and general counsel and son of Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill. Jim Grogan, chairman of the Maricopa County Tourism and Sports Authority, said that the next step will be to choose a site for the 70,000-seat stadium, which would seat an additional 7,000 for the Fiesta Bowl and Super Bowl. "The time is now for specifics," Grogan said. "We need details. It is very important that the facility be economically viable. That means it needs to be located where we can attract conventions, trade shows, concerts, other events." He said he wants a site selected by early January. Groundbreaking is targeted for mid-June, with completion in time for the Cardinals' 2004 season. Four sites have been proposed -- on the Tempe-Mesa border, in Tempe, in west Phoenix and on the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation. The two Tempe sites are near Sun Devil Stadium, where the Cardinals have played since they moved from St. Louis in 1988. The nine-member authority is to meet next Tuesday. The measure boosts the hotel-motel tax by 1 percent and imposes a $3.50 surcharge on car rentals. The proposal is to provide $229 million of the $331 million cost of the stadium, as well as $96 million for tourism promotion, $73 million for Major League Baseball spring training facilities and $27 million for recreational sports.
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