Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority

Last updated
Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority
Company typecorporate and political entity
Founded Phoenix (2000)
HeadquartersState Farm Stadium
One Cardinals Drive
Glendale, Arizona 85305
Key people
Tom Sadler, President and CEO
Debbie Johnson, Chair
Website www.az-sta.com

The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority (AZSTA) is a corporate and political body having the rights, powers and immunities of a municipal corporation. It was created on April 24, 2000, by Arizona Senate Bill 1220. The mission of the AZSTA is to build and operate a multipurpose facility, to provide funding for tourism promotion in Maricopa County, to improve Cactus League [1] spring training facilities, and to build community youth and amateur sports and recreational facilities.

Contents

The AZSTA Board of Directors consists of nine citizens of Maricopa Co. who volunteer their time and accept no compensation or per diem. The Board members are appointed to five-year terms by the Governor (5), the President of the Senate (2) and the Speaker of the House (2) and are eligible to serve two terms. Board appointees are appointed to achieve a balanced representation of the Valley's regions as well as the tourism industry, Cactus League and youth sports. The daily operation of the AZSTA is overseen by the Executive Staff Members.

Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority office entrance located at State Farm Stadium. AZSTA Entrance.jpg
Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority office entrance located at State Farm Stadium.

History

On April 24, 2000, Arizona Governor Jane Dee Hull signed Arizona Senate Bill 1220 which created the Arizona Tourism and Sports Authority (initially known as the TSA). Later in April 2004 the Arizona Tourism and Sports Authority was renamed to the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority in order to avoid confusion with the similarly abbreviated Transportation Security Administration.

The original Arizona Tourism and Sports Authority logo. AZTSA Logo.png
The original Arizona Tourism and Sports Authority logo.

The first order of business for the TSA was to bring a stadium financing package to voters in Maricopa County which took the form of Arizona Proposition 302. On November 7, 2000, voters approved the ballot initiative with a 52% to 48% vote.

Youth sports

In May 2001 the TSA approved its first youth sports project. In late September 2001 the TSA approved the city of Avondale’s youth sports complex proposal. The TSA hosted a Youth and Amateur Sports Town Hall in April 2002. During the Town Hall, the TSA formed an advisory committee and announced plans to develop existing youth and amateur sports facilities. The Advisory Committee held its first meeting in May 2002. In December 2002, the TSA approved an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Avondale for a 10-field complex to be completed by December 2003. In February 2003, the TSA hosted the First Annual Youth and Amateur Sports Summit. In June 2003, the TSA broke ground for the Avondale Regional Youth Sports Complex. The Youth and Amateur Sports Committee provided the TSA with recommendations, and in February 2004 the TSA approved $1.32 million for 13 projects and programs.

Spring training

In February 2002, AZSTA made its first spring training decision when it voted to increase the funding commitment for the City of Surprise spring training facility. In December 2002, the city of Surprise held the grand opening of "Billy Parker Field". In February 2003, AZSTA sold $33 million of Cactus League bonds and directed $4.3 million to a $6.4 million upgrade project for Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The $4.3 million was presented in a commemorative check on March 26, 2003, during an Oakland Athletics vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game. The Phoenix Municipal Stadium project was completed in February 2004.

AZSTA has committed $68.3 million in funding for renovations to Cactus League facilities in Scottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix and Surprise. It is estimated that over 30 years, AZSTA will contribute $205 million to the refurbishment of Cactus League facilities in Maricopa County.

AZSTA has funded:

Upcoming Cactus League projects include a stadium in Goodyear for the Cleveland Indians and a stadium in Glendale for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maricopa County, Arizona</span> County in Arizona, United States

Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and the most populous county in Arizona, and making Arizona one of the nation's most centralized states. The county seat is Phoenix, the state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottsdale, Arizona</span> City in Arizona, United States

Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott, a retired U.S. Army chaplain, the city was incorporated in 1951 with a population of 2,000. At the 2020 census, the population was 241,361, which had grown from 217,385 in 2010. Its slogan is "The West's Most Western Town". Over the past two decades, it has been one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix metropolitan area</span> Metropolitan area in Arizona, United States

The Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the city of Phoenix. It includes much of central Arizona. The United States Office of Management and Budget designates the area as the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), defining it as Maricopa and Pinal counties. It anchors the Arizona Sun Corridor megaregion along with the second-most populous metropolitan area in the state, the Tucson metropolitan area. The gross domestic product of the Phoenix metropolitan area was $255 billion in 2018, 16th-largest amongst metro areas in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hi Corbett Field</span> Baseball stadium in Tucson, Arizona

Hi Corbett Field is a baseball park in the southwestern United States, located in Tucson, Arizona. With a seating capacity of approximately 9,500, it was the spring training home of the Colorado Rockies and Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball, and is currently home to the University of Arizona Wildcats of the Pac-12 Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tempe Diablo Stadium</span> Sports venue in Tempe, Arizona

Tempe Diablo Stadium is a baseball field located in Tempe, Arizona. It has been the spring training home of the Los Angeles Angels since 1993, and it is the home field for night games of the Arizona League Angels. It was the spring training home of the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and 1970, the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971 and 1972, and the Seattle Mariners from 1977 through 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix Municipal Stadium</span> Baseball stadium

Phoenix Municipal Stadium is a baseball stadium, located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is often referred in short as Phoenix Muni. The stadium was built in 1964 and holds 8,775 people. It is currently the home to the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball program, having relocated to Phoenix Municipal Stadium at the start of their 2015 season. It is the former spring training home to the Oakland A's, having played their home games from 1982 to 2014. The San Francisco Giants held spring training at the ballpark from 1964 to 1981, when they moved to Scottsdale Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottsdale Stadium</span> Baseball stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona

Scottsdale Stadium is a baseball stadium located in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. Designed by the architect of the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards, Populous, the stadium was expanded to its current state in 1992 and holds 12,000 people. It has been the spring training home of the San Francisco Giants since 1984, when the capacity was just 4,721.

The Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority, more popularly known as Valley Metro, is the unified public brand of the regional transit system for the Phoenix metropolitan area. Within the system, it is divided between Valley Metro Bus, which runs all bus operations, Valley Metro Rail, which is responsible for light rail and streetcar operations in the Valley. In 2023, the combined bus and rail system had a ridership of 36,374,000, or about 122,500 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Farm Stadium</span> Stadium in Glendale, Arizona

State Farm Stadium is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Glendale, Arizona, west of Phoenix. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) and the annual Fiesta Bowl. It replaced Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe as the home of the Cardinals, and is adjacent to Desert Diamond Arena, former home of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona State Route 30</span> Planned state highway in Arizona

State Route 30, also known as the Tres Rios Freeway, is a planned freeway in the southwest part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is planned as a reliever for Interstate 10 five miles to the south and will run through the communities of Buckeye, Goodyear, Avondale, and Phoenix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Bundgaard</span> Republican politician

Scott Bundgaard is a Republican politician who served in the Arizona House of Representatives and in the Arizona State Senate. Bundgaard was elected in 2010 as Majority Leader of the Arizona State Senate, and later served as Vice-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt River Fields at Talking Stick</span> Stadium complex in the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is a stadium complex located in the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, Arizona, at the former site of the Indian Bend Country Club. It serves as the Major League Baseball spring-training facility for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies, replacing Tucson Electric Park for the Diamondbacks and Hi Corbett Field for the Rockies. The complex represents the first MLB park to be built on Native American Indian land.

Many arterial roads in the Phoenix metropolitan area have the same name in multiple cities or towns. Some roads change names or route numbers across town borders, resulting in occasional confusion. For example, the road known as Apache Boulevard in Tempe continues east as Main Street in neighboring Mesa and then as Apache Trail in Apache Junction. Although Broadway Road maintains the same name through Goodyear, Avondale, Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, and Apache Junction, each town uses a different reference point for address numbers.

Compadre Stadium was a stadium located in Chandler, Arizona. It was the spring training home of the Milwaukee Brewers from 1986 to 1997 and the home field of the Chandler Diamondbacks of the Arizona Fall League from 1992 to 1994. The ballpark was privately financed by local developers and built at a cost of $1.6 million in 1985. It closed in 1997 and sat abandoned for a number of years, with the outfield being used for grazing, before finally being demolished in 2014.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Phoenix, Arizona, United States.

Sports in Arizona includes professional sports teams, college sports, and individual sports. All four major league sports teams in Arizona are based in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Tempe Arena</span> Proposed arena in Tempe, Arizona

The New Tempe Arena was a proposed sports facility to be constructed in Tempe, Arizona which would have served as home arena for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). This was part of a conceptual $1.7 billion Tempe Entertainment District. The proposal also included hotels, retail, apartments, and a theater. It was rejected by City of Tempe voters on May 16, 2023.

References

Notes
  1. Cactus League official website.