All that is needed is an okay from Tempe.
The National Hockey League’s Arizona franchise ownership has released its plan to build an arena village in Tempe. It will be a $1.7 billion expenditure that comes complete with an arena, hotels, restaurants, stores, a sports lounge, and a theater, In the world of the stadium game, sometimes it is easy to pick out what government officials and sports owners want. Elected officials in Tempe put out a Request For Proposals to develop a piece of land within the city with the NHL team in mind. The proposal that came back was as close as you can get to the wish list that Tempe officials wanted when it put out a Request For Proposals for a tract of land. Team officials claim the project would mostly be financed by private investors, but the team also wants $200 million in generated city tax revenues to fund additional developments and a property tax abatement.
Tempe officials wanted that parcel of land to house a sports stadium or an arena and a practice facility. They wanted a team owner to create a stadium or an arena village that would include 1,000 residential units, 200,000 square feet of retail space, and a large plaza with amenities. Name recognition for Tempe and an opportunity for Tempe public service announcements. The Arizona ownership was the only group to turn in a proposal. It seems that Tempe knew there was going to be only one bidder because all the other area teams seem set in whatever direction they are taking. Tempe officials claim they will review the Arizona ownership bid and that could take some time but Tempe and the hockey team’s ownership were talking about a deal for a while before the RFP was issued in July. It seems the decision on the RFP winner has already been made.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
