[HooverDam]

Arizona submits 2015 Super Bowl bid

NFL team owners to decide the winner in October

22 comments by Rebekah L. Sanders - Aug. 1, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

The envelope carrying Arizona's bid for Super Bowl XLIX will be delivered to the National Football League on Monday, the deadline for organizers to prove why the Valley should host the championship game in 2015.

Tampa is also competing.

"I think this is the most solid bid we've ever submitted," said attorney Mike Kennedy, who chairs the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee. "We have the benefit of experience. We've done this before. And it came together very well."


It's good news for local football fans and tourism-related businesses, already cheering the start of the Arizona Cardinals season after the recent resolution to the NFL lockout and the acquisition of the team's new quarterback, Kevin Kolb.

"We have football back, and we have a quarterback. And for Glendale, we hope it's Super Bowl season," Kennedy said.

NFL team owners are expected to review the two bids and pick a winner in October.

The economy has made it more difficult in recent years for the host committee to garner support. The committee declined last year to bid for the 2014 game, citing economic concerns.

Kennedy said committee Executive Director Winnie Stolper and her assistant pounded the pavement last week to secure the final 2,000 hotel rooms to meet the NFL requirement of 19,000 dedicated rooms.

Kristen Jarnagin, spokeswoman for the Valley Hotel & Resort Association, said hotels sometimes are reluctant to commit to rates set by the NFL so far in advance. "It's not always great business sense. Sometimes you can make more money not having a contract," she said.

But Jarnagin said most hotels want to help attract the Super Bowl.

"It does bring in quite a bit of business," she said.

Arizona faces a tough opponent. Tampa has hosted Super Bowls in 1984, 1991, 2001 and 2009, compared with Arizona's two in 1996 and 2008.

"They'll be formidable competition, but I'm confident. I like our chances," Kennedy said.

Some Glendale leaders objected to the costs of the game.

Since hosting the 2008 game at University of Phoenix Stadium, the Glendale City Council has supported other Super Bowl bids, but not without debate.

Super Bowl XLII generated a $500 million windfall statewide, according to a study commissioned by the host committee. But a Glendale-commissioned study showed the city spent $2.2 million more than the sales taxes it collected.

The NFL's demands grow more "invasive" every year, Councilwoman Joyce Clark recently said.

Clark, who was in the council minority voting against the bid, listed specifications such as free use of the stadium for nearly two months, final cleaning of the stadium and equipment. The NFL doesn't pay state or local levies such as payroll, sales, use and occupancy taxes.

"The city of Glendale should not be expected to pay the Super Bowl's costs without recompense when it benefits the entire region," she said.

Kennedy agreed the NFL's requirements are more stringent this year and likely will be more expensive for the Valley to host. But others are helping to foot the bill, he said, and the benefits are widespread. The state plans to waive some taxes for the NFL, while Phoenix and Scottsdale are expected to kick in money for public safety and other costs.

Glendale, unlike in 2008, would retain a portion of sales taxes collected from the stadium to fund public safety, transportation and stadium infrastructure.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/card...#ixzz1TsKVuw00

Well keep our fingers crossed, hopefully we get this. Tampa has had twice as many Super Bowls as we've had and they had one more recently, so it only seems fair that we should get the 2015 game.