The Arizona Supreme Court determined Wednesday, December 4th, that it would not take the John Long lawsuit under further review. The decision allows the Arizona Cardinals and the Tourism and Sports Authority to move forward on all fronts in fulfilling Proposition 302 as approved by the voters of Maricopa County. The decision clears the way for construction of the new home of the Cardinals, a $355 million multipurpose stadium facility that will generate 3,500 new construction jobs and will reduce the state's budget deficit by $20 million over the next 3 years.
Vice President and General Counsel Michael Bidwill is not only elated to move forward in construction of the new Cards stadium, but also to see an end to the overall threat the lawsuit represented to the Phoenix community.
"It is a very exciting day, not just for the stadium, but also for the youth sports leagues that will be getting those new fields, the tourism industry, the Cactus League, the Fiesta Bowl," emphasized Bidwill. "It is an exciting day, fifteen months later and north of a million dollars that everybody spent on lawyers, so we are hopeful to get this thing rolling pretty quickly."
Bidwill expects to begin discussions with the City of Glendale and the TSA as far as finance, construction, and closing on the land immediately and is optimistic that there will be no further delays.
"I think the fans are excited about this," said Bidwill. "Everyone has been frustrated by the process because it has taken longer then they thought it should, so I think it is exciting that we can start moving forward. This was the last part of his appeal. It is too bad that he dragged it out this long and I wish he would have ended it after the Court of Appeal so we could have gotten moving back in August, but this is where we are and we will move forward."
The Multipurpose Facility project, located directly south of the Coyotes Arena currently under construction at the Loop 101 and Bethany Home Road in Glendale, is the largest single construction project in the state since the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.
