Venue Detail
Arizona Cardinals
Revenues From Sports Venues Pro Facilities Report
January, 2010
Arizona Cardinals
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One Cardinals Dr Glendale, AZ 85305 Phone: 602-379-0101 Fax: 602-379-1821 URL: www.azcardinals.com Owner: William Bidwill League: National Football League NFC West
Venue
University of Phoenix Stadium, One Cardinals Dr, Glendale, AZ 85305 Owner: Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority Managed by: Global Spectrum Built: 2006 Capacity: 63,000 Concessionaire: Rojo Hospitality Suite caterer: Rojo Hospitality
Naming rights
Sold to: University of Phoenix Price: $154, 000,000 Term: 20 years Expires: 2026
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $150 to $3,500 Single tickets range from $50.00 to $400.00 2007 average attendance: 64,581 2008 average attendance: 64,096 2009 average attendance: 63,142
Luxury Suites
Quantity: 88 Term: 3 to 7 years Price: $65,000 to $125,000 Seats: 12 to 12
Club seats
Quantity: 7,400 Price: $1,000 to $3,250
Financing
Glendale's share of the $450 million Venue will be $87 million. The city will create a community facilities district that will sell $36 million in bonds to pay for infrastructure improvements. The bonds will be guaranteed by the Cardinals and will be repaid from sales taxes generated in the district. Each game ticket sold will include a $4 parking fee, increasing at 5 percent per year. A 0.2 percent facility user fee will be charged on all stadium sales. Some of the financing elements are similar to those Glendale used to build a new arena for the Coyotes.
In 2010 the Cardinals became one of the few NFL teams to begin operating its own concessions. The team created Rojo Hospitality and took over the contract from Centerplate.
The Cardinals' concession contract offered the same percentage of commissions as Centerplate, but the team guaranteed it would generate an additional $750,000 a year through additional events and cost reductions to the stadium owner. The team also provides a $1 million loan to the stadium owner, the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority.
Voters in Maricopa County in 2000 approved funding for a new stadium with a scant two percent margin, but that was not the Cardinal's biggest battle in getting a new stadium. Finding a location proved more difficult.
Construction started in Tempe, but then a challenge from Phoenix and Sky Harbor International Airport forced the Tourism and Sports Authority to go looking again. Under legislative threat of sending the issue back to voters, the authority settled on Glendale and a site near the Coyotes' new arena.
The financing package will also pay for operations and maintenance costs, estimated at $11 million, and $12 million in off-site improvements. The Cardinals will pay for the land and be reimbursed from the tax collections. Another $10 million goes into reserves and for future renovations.
The rest of the money approved by voters includes $85 million from the Cardinals who increased their investment from $75 million. The team's share will now be higher because of the delays in selecting a site. While the team was not required to pay the extra, it volunteered to do so. The team's total commitment came to $109.3 million, plus any cost overruns and the land cost for which it will be reimbursed.
The balance comes from a hotel and car rental tax increase applying only to Maricopa County citizens. Income tax money from player salaries will be used as will $10 million from the Fiesta Bowl. The Cardinals will receive all stadium revenue and naming rights earnings. Glendale's facility surcharge will not apply to Fiesta Bowl games.
The building's design is open in many ways. The outside skin includes 21 slots that allow those sitting inside to see outside the building to the city beyond.
"This won't be one of those retractable roof stadiums where you feel like you're sitting in a hole," according to Michael Bidwell, the team's vice president.
Landscaping and graphics will play a major role in the look for the building. The landscaping will include groves of pistachio trees which naturally turn red during the football season.
Luxury suites take on a different look and a different name. Bidwell said the spaces are more like city lofts, "a little more edgy, a little more modern."
The lofts are up to 50 percent larger than the suites at Sun Devil Stadium and feature soft cork flooring, three seats around a table, four swivel-bar seats and 12 red leather stadium seats with individual cup holders and side tables. Each loft has four TVs, which can play up to four different NFL games on Sundays, with three of those plasma screens mounted against a wall and one TV hanging just outside the loft.
Each loft is decorated in team colors and the main light fixture resembles the outside of the stadium. There is also a chalkboard, where the team could draw up a play of the week.
Small individual lockers are in each loft to secure personal belongings and each loft has a large bathroom and two telephones, including an Internet protocol phone with a liquid-crystal-display screen. Fans can use the phones as they would use touch-screen kiosks to order goods from the team shop or check scores.
In addition to a fancy new stadium, the Arizona Cardinals offer their fans a fancy place to tail gate at their new Glendale Stadium.
Two large grassy areas on the west and southwest sides allow fans to picnic. A total of 26,000 parking spaces will be available.
The stadium features a special field that rolls in and out of the stadium. The field is the first of its kind in the United States and rolls into the stadium for games, then back outside so the natural grass can soak in the desert sun.
The design called for a series of steel rails running under the length of the field, from end zone to end zone, serving as the tracks. Running crossways under the tray of dirt and grass are steel beams that will rest on boxes containing railroad-like wheels. A one-way trip will take 45 minutes.
The players were worried about vibrations and how the field will feel underneath their feet. The designers say vibration won't be a problem, but acknowledge there will be that perception until players actually have experience on the field. (Facilities, Financial, Professional Sports, Venue)