State Votes Down Super Bowl Security Funding

By Andrew Romanov
Published: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - 5:27pm
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The Arizona State Senate voted down a bill that would have given Glendale $2 million to cover public safety costs during the Super Bowl in February.

The bill failed in a 16-10 vote.

Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers has been a vocal supporter of the bill. He said it is only fair that the whole state pay for an event that benefits the whole state.

But State Sen. Steve Farley of Tucson voted against the bill. He said it would have no benefit to his constituents, and that Glendale has not shown that it can spend its own money responsibly.

“Well it’s clear they haven’t really learned their lessons about sports events and whether or not they actually benefit the city,” Farley said. “Their deal with the Coyotes seems to be a horrible deal where they could be losing between $6 and $9 million a year just to keep a hockey team in their community. We certainly shouldn't bail out bad decisions on the part of municipalities who are sort of going for the gold and lose.”

Weiers said the city will provide security even without the state’s help. But that could mean the city will have to cut services.

“If we have to put off repairing streets that we’ve been putting off for the last four, five, six years, then I guess that’s what we’ll have to do,” Weiers said. “Unfortunately, my citizens are going to be the ones that are picking up the burden on that, and it’s not fair.”

Weiers said federal laws require large sporting events to have certain security precautions in place.

Farley said he hopes Glendale appeals to the NFL for funding, since it will be the greatest beneficiary of the Super Bowl.