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2003 Fall League Meeting – Chicago Commissioner Tagliabue: I’m very pleased to announce that Super Bowl XLII in 2008 has been awarded to Arizona to be played in the Cardinals’ new stadium being built in Glendale, Arizona. I’d like to invite Mike Bidwill and Bill Bidwill to speak to you. Mike Bidwill: My name is Michael Bidwill. I’m vice president and general counsel for the Cardinals. I’d like to say thank you to the National Football League for awarding Super Bowl XLII to the state of Arizona. I think it’s a tremendous gesture by the league to show support for the publicly funded stadium that was approved a couple of years ago and is now under construction. It’s going to be an exciting game. We were very excited to be a part of the presentation team. Some of the presentation team is here, led by Governor Janet Napolitano. Governor Napolitano, if you could stand up and be acknowledged, I’d appreciate it. Secondly, Mayor Elaine Scruggs, the mayor of Glendale, where the new stadium is located. Mayor Elaine Scruggs, if you could come forward. As well as Greg Holmes. Greg is president and CEO of a local company called Stardust and he is a terrific supporter of the valley, the business community and is the chairman of the Super Bowl Bid Committee, which I guess effectively today will change to the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee. So we’re very excited about the presentation that was made and the effort that the whole community has made to make the stadium a reality, as well as Super Bowl XLII. Somebody who I’d like to ask to come up who is incredibly important, not to just this Super Bowl effort, but to Super Bowl XXX, is the chairman of the Arizona Host Committee in 1996, Bill Shover. Bill, if you could join us, that would be outstanding. Bill is an outstanding ambassador for the greater Phoenix area and Arizona, a tremendous contributor to the community and has been a great person to have as part of the Super Bowl bid that was made today in front of the NFL owners. So I’d again like to say thank you. And I’d like to introduce my father who, as normal, will make a few brief remarks. Bill Bidwill, the president of the Cardinals. Bill Bidwill: After we got the vote, I told the owners that it’s going to be better than ‘96, better than Super Bowl XXX. It will be a great presentation. Bill Shover: On behalf of the Super Bowl Bid Committee, the city of Glendale and the whole state of Arizona, we are just delighted with the NFL’s decision to make Arizona the state for 2008. And I’d like to express my personal thanks and gratitude to the Bidwills, to Greg Holmes and Elaine Scruggs. This wouldn’t have happened without hours and hours of work by all of you, so I’m very grateful. Hosting a Super Bowl will be the opportunity for the world to see the new Arizona and to see all of the things that are going on in this vital and vibrant state. We will certainly have a positive impact on our economy, on tourism in our state, all of which will be a wonderful part of the experience. As I said during our presentation, during the next years, Arizonans, and I’m speaking on behalf of Arizonans, will make every preparation and put our all into this so that by the time the game rolls into town, the new stadium will be ready, Glendale will be ready and Arizona will be super ready for the biggest Super Bowl party the state has ever seen. Thank you, Commissioner Tagliabue, for your assistance and for making Arizona your pick. Thank you to the NFL owners for awarding this bid to the state of Arizona. We’re going to go home and start getting ready. Thank you. Commissioner Tagliabue: The one thing that I
would add is that all three of these presentations were extremely strong and
I think there was a recognition that each of these three cities would offer
unique attributes and opportunities to host the Super Bowl. And I want to
thank Fred Thompson and Mayor Williams from the District of Columbia for the
leadership that they played in presenting the Washington, D.C. bid. I want
to thank General Franks and Mayor Iorio for the leadership that they played
in presenting the Tampa bid and also the ownership of those two teams, Dan
Snyder and Malcolm Glazer and his sons, Joel and Bryan. They were really
three extraordinary presentations, each with their own very strong
attributes. So this was not an easy decision for the membership, but you
won convincingly. Questions. Q: On why Arizona was chosen . . . Commissioner Tagliabue: I think it was the fact that the team and the leadership in the state, both in the public and private sector, have been working hard on this dream of a new stadium for many years. And they showed, everybody showed, tremendous persistence and leadership and once they were able to secure the public support through the voting process for this stadium in Glendale, I think that was something that most of the owners felt had to be recognized. And we had said during that process, we the league, that we would certainly be responsive with a Super Bowl at some time if there were a new stadium in Arizona. And of course the experience in 1996 was tremendous from a fan’s standpoint with the weather and all the other amenities. So I’m sure when the competition is as keen as it was here, there are multiple factors in the minds of different owners. But I would think it was the long period of time, the persistent leadership and the quality of the outcome in terms of a visionary stadium which is already commanding great attention in the architectural and design community. So I really think this is a vote in support of the leadership of the state, the leadership of the Cardinals and most of all the public. Q: Did the Monday Night Football game that was just played play any part in this decision? Commissioner Tagliabue: Well it certainly didn’t hurt, but I think that the fundamentals here are much more important, as I’ve said already. This has been a seven-year timeline for Mike, a longer timeline for Bill Bidwill, a long timeline for the governor and the mayor, other officials and the businesses in Arizona. Rome was not built in a day and the Super Bowl was not built on Monday night. |