Marlborough Mesa

I am going to respond to the misinformation put forth in the most recent newsletter by Suzanne Weaver. I am a Cardinals season ticket holder and am pro-stadium, but I will set aside my bias and deal with FACTS.

Suzanne's info will be in quotes, followed by the facts.

''I do not believe that public money should be used to fatten the wallets of people who do not give a care about this community.'' -- Cardinals charities, and the donations of the individual players (such as Jake's help with a Christian youth camp, connected to St. Timothy's just down the street from here) make them one of the most charitable organizations in the state, if not THE most charitable.

''They have always put out a bad product...'' -- Nobody was complaining after their 1998/1999 playoff run. They are the only team playing in a college stadium. They split the ticket money with the visiting team, but PARKING, CONCESSIONS, and nearly all SKYBOX revenue goes to Arizona State University. ASU has made millions from the Cards being here. Teams with their own stadiums can use those millions to improve their product.

''Their players are for the most part, not the kind that you want your children to admire. They are either beating up their wives or putting part of their multi-million dollar salary up their noses.'' -- Please name some of these offenders. Michael Pittman was involved in 2 domestic incidents with his estranged wife and did not hit her either time. Mario Bates (former Sun Devil) hit his wife and was cut immediately. Boston's drug use is still unclear. Please name the bad players you meant... I'll name a few from other teams...most recently Coyote Brad May - assault on a police officer, D-Back Mike DeFelice - assault on a woman at a nightclub, minor league player drove drunk and killed a teammate on the way to Tucson, Bobby Chouinard pulling a gun on his wife? The Suns - where does one start? The drug scandal of the late 80's? Mustaf having his pregnant girlfriend killed by his cousin, who he flew into town? Dumas on drugs? Marbury DUI? Kidd hitting his wife? Robinson DUI? Penny pulling a gun on his girlfriend? All the other teams in town have fewer players and more players in trouble than the Cards.

To be continued...

Response part 2

''I am not even covering what this will do to the neighborhood up there.'' -- raise property values, etc. Have a state of the art facility close by with major events on only 10-13 days a year. 2 Cards preseason games, 8 regular season Cards games, max 1 or 2 possible playoff games, 1 Fiesta Bowl game, 1 Super Bowl game (every 5 to 7 years), 1 NCAA Final Four (once every few years as well). Conventions and other events bring much smaller quieter crowds.

''I think the Bidwell's should pony up some cash and buy the homes from those folks.'' Actually it is BIDWILL. And they're ponying up about $85 MILLION, which is the most that any NFL team ever has in a stadium deal. As for that area, I lived there for 7 years before coming to MM. Anyone who would buy a home next to a large undeveloped acreage has to know that someday it will be developed. Poor foresight on their part. That is not Bidwill's fault. And the stadium will have less of an impact than the opposition would have you believe.

''What happens if he doesn't like the stadium in 15 years? Is he going to whine and hold us hostage again?'' -- Actually, one thing Mr. Bidwill has never done is threaten to go elsewhere. He is committed to keeping the team in Arizona. Besides, the stadium stays even if the team leaves, and you won't get another team without building the stadium anyway...like the Rams who waited 10 years without the NFL before getting the Rams (worst team of the 1990's).

Response part 3

''The whole stadium issue was sold as getting pools and ball fields for kids.'' -- Thanks to Jerry Colangelo and his crooked dealings in getting BOB built. Any stadium only plan is hard to sell to the public.

''Then on election night, who do we see at a ''Victory Celebration'' - the guy in the bow tie. The phantom who only comes out to grab our money.'' -- Of course the media is going to cover the NFL aspect of the vote. Especially since Bidwill was PROMISED a stadium when he brought his team here in good faith. Since then the Suns, D-backs and Coyotes already have or are building new places to play.

''He can threaten to take his team and leave, but who wants them?'' -- First, he has never threatened to leave. Second, San Antonio and Los Angeles both would love to have the Cards.

''All you need to do is look at St. Louis. We took their trash and they are grateful. They have a new stadium and a SUPER BOWL.'' -- St. Louis went 10 years without football, and eventually had to build a stadium to get a team. They got the worst team in football (for the entire 1990's). The Rams got good because they had huge new revenue streams because of the new stadium. Georgia Frontiere, knowing the money was going to come in, picked up Marshall Faulk and other key players which contributed greatly to their SB run.

Response part 4

''We had better enjoy the World Series win from the Diamondbacks because the Cardinals franchise has never, and will never produce a Super Bowl for the Valley.'' -- Actually, Super Bowl XXX was held right here in the Valley and brought in MILLIONS to the state, as well as nationwide exposure. Without the Cards here, we never would have hosted the Super Bowl. As for the Cards actually playing in a Super Bowl? They were very close in 98/99. If they beat Minnesota...they play Atlanta for a trip to the Super Bowl. It is not that farfetched. Besides the D-Backs, the Cards are the only other local team with Championships in their franchise history. They won 2 NFL Championships.

''They don't care if they do or not.'' -- Mr. Bidwill has been attacked for many things, but in almost every move he is trying to improve his team and WIN. Buddy Ryan burned him good, but he made that move in an attempt to win. Anyone who saw Bidwill during the playoffs, knows how badly he wants to win.

''The Bidwell's [Bidwill's] are currently playing in a stadium that is better than they deserve.'' -- Completely untrue. SDS is a nice college stadium primarily because of the money they've made from letting the Cards play there. The NFL also paid for improvements to SDS in order to host the Super Bowl. The Cards are an NFL franchise and deserve to play in a real NFL stadium.

''Where the Council ever got the number 48,000 is beyond me.'' -- I just crunched the numbers. In their 14 previous seasons here, the Cards have averaged 46,698 for each regular season home game. I've got the numbers if you want them... The reason they've had so many local blackouts is because of the size of SDS. There are only a few other NFL stadiums with larger capacity than SDS.