Voters in Maricopa County gave the go-ahead for a plan to sell bonds to build a $335 million retractable-roof stadium for the struggling franchise that relocated there in 1988.
The plan also calls for another $485 million in bonds to finance tourism promotion, spring-training baseball facilities and youth sports venues.
The bonds would be backed by a 1 percent hike on hotel rooms within Maricopa County and a surcharge on rental cars. Voters rejected a similar proposal to build a new stadium in May 1999.
Cardinals officials have also pledged $85 million for the project with the Fiesta Bowl college football game contributing another $10 million. Including debt service, the total price tag comes to $1.8 billion.
Proponents were clinging to a roughly 20,000 vote margin as the last few precincts trickled into election headquarters late Tuesday. However, some 40,000 mail-in ballots still needed to be tallied and a final count is not expected until at least Friday.
The team has long sought a new facility since arriving in Tempe, Ariz., from St. Louis. The team currently plays at Arizona State University's Sun Devil Stadium but Cardinal officials say that the venue does not generate the money needed to be competitive.
Still, unlike many other sports teams that threaten to leave their cities if residents do not fund new stadiums, the Cardinals have not said they would necessarily relocate if voters defeated the ballot measure.
Reuters
Unlike the presidential election, the same-day ballot by Phoenix voters to approve a $1.8 billion plan that would help build a new stadium for the Arizona Cardinals, has resulted in a clear verdict.
