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Long vows suit;
Says stadium is 'illegal'
 

By Marty Sauerzopf and Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic
Copyright 2001  Phoenix Newspapers, Inc.
Article date: August 11, 2001
 

West Valley developer John F. Long threw another major hurdle at the Arizona Cardinals on Friday, asking the state attorney general to declare the team's proposed Tempe stadium site illegal and to bar the use of any tax money for the facility.

Long, whose stadium proposal lost to Tempe in February, said that if Attorney General Janet Napolitano doesn't stop the stadium, he will file a lawsuit to halt the work and block what he believes to be an illegal use of taxpayer money. The action could have serious ramifications for the $335 million project, which the Tourism and Sports Authority and the Cardinals want completed for the 2004 football season. Construction crews have said they need to start work almost immediately to avoid cost overruns, and a legal challenge could mean months of delays.

Tempe and sports authority officials were fuming at what they characterized as groundless allegations. Randy Gross, a Tempe deputy city manager, questioned Long's timing, asking, "If he thought there was a question, why did he wait so long?" Another official called the action "piling on" amid other troubles.

Work was halted at the site July 12 after the Federal Aviation Administration declared the stadium a potential flight hazard for pilots using nearby Sky Harbor International Airport. The sports authority filed its first formal response to those findings Friday, hoping to soften the FAA's stance in time to break ground early next month.

Even if the FAA agrees to work with the authority, the stadium could still face a legal challenge from Phoenix, which owns and operates the airport. Phoenix officials say they will sue to stop construction if they believe the stadium will force too many changes in Sky Harbor's operation.

Long said he started the legal challenge now because it took his lawyers this long to research and write the challenge. He insisted his actions aren't sour grapes. He said he withdrew his offer of free land at Thomas Road and Loop 101 and has no interest in hosting the stadium.

"What I'm saying is that the TSA (sports authority) is required by the law to follow the law," Long said. And to Long, the law says that all possible stadium sites had to be presented to Maricopa County residents before they voted on a sales tax to fund the facility.

"It's simple. The law doesn't say anything that the TSA can go out on their own."

The Tempe site was not offered until after the Nov. 7, 2000, vote. Tempe had originally proposed a site at McClintock Drive and Rio Salado Parkway. But the city withdrew that location and substituted the site near Washington Street and Priest Drive about three weeks after the election.

Sports authority President Ted Ferris counters that the law's intent was to reassure voters that if they approved the funding plan, there would be at least one viable site and a host to cover the infrastructure costs. The law does not preclude consideration of other sites after the election, Ferris said.

Under Long's interpretation of the law, Ferris said, the West Valley proposal, which included Long's donated land, could have been disqualified because the stadium sites were to be proposed by cities or counties. Westmarc, a coalition of community and business leaders, originally offered the West Valley site. It was only after the election that Avondale signed on as the primary sponsor.

Long also raised several other issues in the 17-page letter to Napolitano:

* That the law requires the sports authority to own the stadium land; the Tempe site will be leased from Salt River Project.

* That Tempe violated its agreement with the authority by failing to secure approval from the FAA earlier and by failing to make a required $3 million payment to the authority by Aug. 3.

* That several members of the authority board had conflicts of interest that should have barred them from voting on the stadium site in February.

Ferris said most of those issues have been addressed earlier: "We gave them our opinions. They may just not like what they are."

Authority Chairman Jim Grogan said he was disappointed by the threat of what he called a frivolous lawsuit.

"It saddens me that Mr. Long would take this action at this time," Grogan said. "Our legal counsel assured us at the time of the selection process and continues to assure us that we have followed not only the letter but the spirit of the law."

He said the timing of the threat "now appears to be unfortunately designed simply to delay the bonding process and cause damage to the TSA's ability to move forward in a timely basis." He said that if the sports authority wins in court, it will seek damages from Long.

Under state law, which allows private citizens to challenge the expenditure of public money, Napolitano has 60 days to respond to Long's request for an investigation. If Napolitano doesn't respond or says there are no legal problems with the Tempe site, Long said he will file a lawsuit to have the issue heard in court.

"I'm not opposed to the Cardinals," Long said. "I'm opposed to what appears to be, in my opinion, illegal actions by the TSA."

Sen. Scott Bundgaard, R-Glendale, who first raised the issue in February, has also asked Napolitano to give an opinion on the site selection issue. She declined to issue an opinion earlier in the year, directing the sports authority to interpret and enforce its own selection criteria.

Meanwhile, the authority worked Friday to solve the other serious threat to the Tempe site. In a formal response to the FAA's July 17 evaluation, officials outlined plans to shift the stadium three-tenths of a mile east and about 600 feet south of the original location, which would have lined up with the center line of the airport's busy North Runway.

In a letter to FAA Regional Administrator William Withycombe, Ferris asks for a decision on the two issues by Aug. 20.

FAA spokesman Jerry Snyder said Friday that the agency normally does not issue its findings piecemeal and still plans to issue a final report after Sept. 10.
 

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