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Funding to bring Reds to Goodyear secured, city says
Cincinnati Reds deal on spring-training facility a step closer
by Jessica Coomes
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 13, 2008 12:00 AM

Goodyear can come up with $33 million to build the Cincinnati Reds' practice facilities, the city announced Wednesday.

That puts Goodyear one step closer to hosting the Reds' spring training in 2010.

Because confidential negotiations between the southwest Valley city and the team will continue until next month, Goodyear will not say how it intends to supply the money.

Reds executive John Allen has said the ball club will move to Goodyear from Florida if the $33 million is secured.

The City Council is scheduled to vote April 7 on a final agreement with the Reds.

Coming up with $33 million was a linchpin in the exclusive talks. If Goodyear had missed today's deadline, the Reds could have walked away from the table.

Allen said he is pleased with the financial plan.

"They have shown it to me, and certainly there's enough there, and we're comfortable with it that we will proceed," he said Wednesday from Ohio.

Allen said the Reds' deal would be similar to that of the Cleveland Indians, a fellow Ohio team leaving Florida to join the Cactus League in Goodyear next year.

The two teams would have separate practice facilities and would share a 10,000-seat ballpark under construction on Estrella Parkway, about two miles south of Interstate 10.

Allen said he will be in Arizona next week, in part to visit with the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority. City officials are continuing to talk to the authority about receiving funding for spring training.

The sports authority has not wavered in its position that funding for Cactus League projects is tapped for the foreseeable future.

"We would be delighted to see the Cincinnati Reds conduct their training activities in Arizona, but, unfortunately, are not in a financial position to assist with your efforts in financing further improvements to accommodate the Cincinnati Reds or any other team," Debbie Johnson, chairwoman of the sports authority, wrote in a letter to Goodyear Mayor Jim Cavanaugh late last month.

Goodyear recognizes that fact, interim City Manager Brian Dalke said. However, the city is asking to be put in a queue to receive new money that has not yet been committed to projects. That might not happen for two decades, Dalke told the council.

The city paid for half of the $75 million needed to build its ballpark and Indians training facilities, and the authority paid the other half.

If a second team is secured, Dalke said Goodyear might ask to be reimbursed for two-thirds instead of half.

quote:

If a second team is secured, Dalke said Goodyear might ask to be reimbursed for two-thirds instead of half.

This is based on the fact that Glendale is receiving two-thirds funding from AZSTA for what will eventually be the combined facility for the Dodgers and White Sox.

I've thought about the scheduling issue some more and I don't think it would be that big of a deal. Basically you'd need to have every team rotate and play maybe two or three split squad games apiece, and you'd be fine. I kept hearing through the grapevine that this would be a huge issue, but maybe it isn't after all.

As a fan of Ohio sports, I am very psyched about the fact that they might pull this off, and I think that area (SW Valley) will be poised to inherit a lot of Ohio transplants over the next two decades. Good luck to Goodyear! -TCL

Whoops... Isn't it funny how these things end up starting off "one vote short", and then it magically passes by one vote? Evidently more politial favors need to be cashed in first... -TCL

Link to Arizona Republic article

Goodyear's bid for Reds hits snag
Jessica Coomes
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 22, 2008 12:00 AM

With money tight in Goodyear, some city leaders are questioning whether spring training is the smartest way to spend $33 million.

The Cincinnati Reds stand to join the Cactus League in 2010, but four City Council members must agree to pay for the team's training amenities. So far, only three are on board.

The proposal has revived the universal debate over spending public funds to build sports facilities. The debate is worsened in this economic downturn as Goodyear, which had been counting on sales tax from a booming construction industry, now expects to bring in $12 million less than anticipated this year.

"The issue is the money," said Goodyear Councilwoman Joanne Osborne, who opposes paying for the new facilities. "It's about priorities. We don't have a downtown. We don't have a library. We don't have the things our citizens want and have asked for."

Supporters argue spending $33 million to build the Reds' clubhouse and practice fields is an investment that will pay dividends into the local economy for years.

Next spring, the Cleveland Indians will train in the Goodyear ballpark under construction.

Goodyear split the $75 million cost for that project with the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority. But because the authority's funding has since dried up, Goodyear would pay the full $33 million for the Reds on its own.

Using public money to build sports venues has a record of volatile debates, said Ray Artigue, executive director of the MBA sports-business program at Arizona State University.

"With all that's been written and discussed about public subsidy of sports facilities, that weighs on politicians in their effort to do what's right for the city but also for themselves in terms of the next election," Artigue said. "It's played out in cities all over America.

"But at the end of the discussion, it seems to me, the great majority of the citizens come to believe these venues and these teams are valuable assets and even points of pride for our cities and our state."

Three of the seven Goodyear council members say spending $33 million for the Reds is the right thing to do. Two others are on the fence; one is against the spending, and one will recuse himself from the vote April 7.

If Goodyear and the Reds don't reach an agreement by next month, the team can walk away from exclusive negotiations.

"I'm for it 100 percent," Councilman **** Sousa said. "With two teams, and the enthusiasm of two Ohio teams, I think the impact on tourism would be so great over a long haul."

The tourism draw of two Ohio teams is clear, Artigue said. Midwestern tourists would have double the reasons to visit Arizona in the spring.

"If the Reds are there, quite simply, all of the winter visitors and even full-time residents here in the Valley that are from the Ohio area are going to migrate out to Goodyear and spend money to watch the games, to eat, to shop. And so, it has a magnetic pull for fans of those teams," Artigue said.

The undecided council members want to know if other major municipal projects would be delayed to build the Reds' training facilities.

The financial details will unfold over the next couple of weeks.

"I'm still making a decision on spending $33 million of local taxpayers' money on what is a regional benefit. I still have to weigh the pros and cons of that," Goodyear Vice Mayor Rob Antoniak said.

Mayor Jim Cavanaugh this week asked the sports authority's board of directors to put the city into a queue to be the first to receive money if it becomes available.

Brad Wright, who chairs the authority's Cactus League committee, supports the idea. He also said he backs efforts to bring the Reds to Goodyear after team representative John Allen said the ballclub would not consider moving to Tucson, where the Chicago White Sox's imminent departure leaves a void.

"The proposed concept is doable for the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, putting them in the queue in the event funds become available," Wright said. "But that's going to require striking a balance between the needs of our existing teams and Goodyear."

Glendale, in particular, has an interest in the queue. City officials said Glendale's ballpark, the future home of the White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, is being funded by the authority at just under the level that was promised.

This may be Goodyear's only chance to land a second team, so Councilwoman Brenda Holland said the city needs to act now.

An arrangement that allows the city to buy discounted property for practice fields and a clubhouse will disappear in February.

"I know that having a new City Hall and a new library and a performing-arts center are very important to the city, and yet you start thinking about what can we do to bring revenue into our city when we're going through an economic downturn," Holland said.

"You only have a couple of choices: You bring in something that's going to bring in a lot of money, or you sit tight."

Link to AZ Republic article

City looks for higher hotel tax to pay for Reds' amenities
by Jessica Coomes - Apr. 3, 2008 06:38 AM
The Arizona Republic

The Goodyear City Council will consider increasing the local hotel tax by 1 percent to help pay for the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse and practice fields.

Under a financial plan unveiled to the council this week, the city staff demonstrated how the city can pay $33 million for the Reds as well as a new city hall, library and expansion of a wastewater-treatment facility in the coming years.

The city has a plan to issue bonds to cover most of these projects' costs.
Despite so many bonds being issued, Goodyear expects to keep its residential property tax rate at $1.60, Goodyear Finance Director Larry Lange said. That's because more homes are being added to the tax base and the values of existing homes are expected to grow in the future.

"What we all heard depicted a better financial position for the city during this economic downturn than any of us could have anticipated," Vice Mayor Rob Antoniak said of the council's briefing Monday.

If the city decided not to issue $33 million for the Reds, Goodyear instead could issue only $15 million to $17 million in bonds for another project, Lange said. That's because of a financing structure that was established when Goodyear issued bonds for the spring-training ballpark and Cleveland Indians facilities.

The Indians will train next springin the ballpark under construction near Estrella Parkway and Yuma Road. The Reds could join their fellow Ohio team by 2010.

"It appears we can afford to bring the Cincinnati Reds to town," Mayor Jim Cavanaugh said. "It's expensive. We certainly can do other things with the money if we choose, but I think the smartest thing to do is bring them here."

After all these bonds were issued, the city likely would not be able to issue any more in the near future.

"I think it's doable," Antoniak said after the financial presentation. "I think it definitely makes me comfortable about making future capital investments during this downturn."

Antoniak and Councilwoman Georgia Lord previously had said they were undecided in how they were going to vote on the Reds project and needed more information about the financial implications of housing the ballclub.

"I've gotten an extreme amount of e-mails, phone calls and personal contacts," Lord said. "We're talking church, we're talking the stores, people stopping me. The majority has been they'd like to see the Cincinnati Reds come to Goodyear. There's been a small handful who gave negative comments."

Lord said she will wait to make her decision until Monday.

At that public council meeting, the council will consider an agreement with the Reds to move the team's training to Goodyear from Sarasota, Fla. The Reds were expected to sign the agreement this week.

It's D-Day in Goodyear... -TCL

http://www.azcentral.com/community/swvalley/articles/20...80407wvteam0407.html
Vote on Reds spring training in Goodyear is today
by Jessica Coomes - Apr. 7, 2008 06:55 AM
The Arizona Republic
The Goodyear City Council will vote Monday night on whether hosting the Cincinnati Reds' spring training is worth $33 million.
The council will meet at the Goodyear Justice Facility, 986 S. Litchfield Road.
The meeting will be streamed live online and is expected to be watched closely in Cincinnati and Sarasota, Fla., where the team now trains. To watch online, go to www.goodyearaz.gov.
It's unknown exactly what time the council will vote. Meetings start at 5 p.m., and the Reds issue is the last the council will consider.
Also today, the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority will decide how to divide money it collects in the future. As it stands, the authority does not have money to help pay for new spring-training projects but is making plans in case it takes in new money.
The authority is reimbursing Goodyear for half of its ballpark and Cleveland Indians practice facilities, which are now under construction. The Indians plan to begin training in Goodyear in 2009.
Goodyear hopes to be reimbursed for two-thirds of construction related to the Indians and two-thirds of the cost of modifying the complex to accommodate the Reds.
Glendale also wants to bring the reimbursement for its two-team facility to two-thirds. In addition, the Cactus League wants assurances money is earmarked for future renovations to ballparks.
If the Goodyear council approves the agreement, the Reds will join the Cactus League in 2010. The city anticipates borrowing $33 million to pay for the Reds clubhouse and practice fields and paying it back over 25 years.

A buddy of mine, a diehard Reds fan, wanted to go halfsies on a condo in Goodyear after I told him the news... -TCL

Link to AZ Republic article

Goodyear OKs deal to host Reds spring training
by Jessica Coomes - Apr. 7, 2008 09:10 PM
The Arizona Republic

Goodyear closed a deal Monday that will bring the Cincinnati Reds' spring training to Arizona in 2010.

The City Council agreed, 6-0, to pay $33 million to build the team's clubhouse and practice fields.

Despite a sour economy, the southwest Valley city officials are confident the city can finance the project - and hopeful the state eventually will reimburse two-thirds of the cost.
Monday's decision means the Cactus League will have 15 teams in 2010, up from the 12 that played this spring.

By snagging the Reds from Florida, Goodyear will have both Ohio professional baseball teams training in its city. The Cleveland Indians will play in Goodyear next spring in a ballpark that is now under construction.

"The Reds complete the picture," Goodyear Mayor Jim Cavanaugh said. "We wanted two teams from the beginning."

Reds CEO Bob Castellini also has signed the agreement, which commits the ballclub to Goodyear for at least 20 years.

Councilwoman Joanne Osborne, who voted for the project Monday, previously said the city should prioritize other projects, including expanding a wastewater-treatment plant and building a new city hall and library.

However, she said she changed her mind after city administrators unveiled a financial plan last week that shows the city can finance all of the projects.

Goodyear officials' vision for the city is what initially attracted the Reds, said John Allen, the team executive who has been leading the search for a spring home. In addition to expanding spring training, Goodyear recently recruited three private universities, pushed for the widening of Interstate 10 and annexed 67 square miles.

"You all have such a plan. It's not just talk," Allen told the City Council. "You know where you are going."

The Reds never intended to leave Florida, Allen said, but negotiations to renovate the team's stadium in Sarasota broke down. That's when the Indians introduced the Reds to Goodyear.

"They dragged us, kicking and screaming," Allen said. But what they found impressed them.

Goodyear agreed to pay for the Reds knowing the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, which has helped pay for spring-training projects in Maricopa County, is out of money and can not commit funds for the Reds.

However, the sports authority on Monday approved a financial plan that shows how it intends to split up any money it gets its hands on in the future.

Under the plan, Goodyear would be reimbursed for two-thirds of the Reds' facilities, ballpark and Indians facilities.

In addition to the Reds and Indians, the Cactus League will expand with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will train in Glendale next spring.