Arizona Cardinals President William V. Bidwill, Vice President and General Counsel Michael Bidwill, punter Scott Player, tackle Alan Reuber, guard Rolando Cantu, wide receiver Anquan Boldin, and Cardinals cheerleaders visited construction workers at the new Cardinals Stadium in the West Valley Tuesday, December 20th for a barbeque luncheon.
To show their appreciation to the hundreds of workers the Cardinals organization catered lunch to nearly 600 crew members. After the stadium workers ate lunch, the players along with Mr. Bidwill handed out t-shirts that read "Cardinals Stadium Construction Crew" to the employees. In addition the cheerleaders signed autographs and posed for pictures with the workers.
"These guys really love this kind of thing," said Hunt Construction Group General Superintendent Jim Garrison. "It is a nice gesture by the Bidwill's and they love being able to meet the players and the cheerleaders."
For the players in attendance it was their first opportunity to visit the stadium. Following the luncheon Michael Bidwill gave the players and the cheerleaders a tour of their future home on game days.
"It's amazing," commented Boldin. "It is going to be nice to finally have a stadium to call our own. There is a lot of detail. You can tell a lot of thought went into the design of it. It is definitely a one of a kind stadium in this world and I'm looking forward to being able to play in it next season."
The new Cardinals Stadium will be open in time for the 2006 season. The world-class venue will not only feature a retractable roof but will also be the first in North America to feature a fully retractable grass playing surface.
In addition to hosting Cardinals games, the stadium will host the Fiesta Bowl annually as well as the BCS National Championship Game in January of 2007 and Super Bowl XLII in February of 2008. The stadium will have a seating capacity of 63,000 fans with the ability to expand to 73,000 for larger events.
