The sports scene continues to develop. In 2009, Glendale plans to add a Spring Training facility that will house the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The plan calls for a four-star resort, golf course and more than a million square feet of retail, commercial and residential space around the stadium.
Going beyond Super Bowl Sunday
For some Glendale residents, watching the city grow around them has been both exciting and frustrating.
Chad Sheak, 28, moved to Glendale from central Phoenix about ten years ago. He said that what initially attracted him to the city was the cheap cost-of-living, as well as the fact that, with all the new developments, it was a city on the rise.
“I knew that Glendale was going to be the place to be eventually,” says Sheak, who lives about two miles away from the University of Phoenix stadium. “Aside from the occasional headache from construction, I couldn’t be happier with the city. My property value has gone way up.”
Fellow Glendale resident Dori Dipietro-Sharpe agrees. Sharpe believes Glendale’s reputation as an up-and-coming city is tied directly into the development of the new sporting and entertainment venues.
Yet, how will a city that is still relatively small in size and population handle an event as large as the Super Bowl?
The city, which has been in the planning stages for the past five years, plans to open nearly 1,000 hotel rooms in the area around the University of Phoenix stadium by the time the Super Bowl takes over the Valley in February. The Glendale Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center is the first of the major hotels to plant its roots in the area.
The Valley economy stands to make more than $1 billion over the next three years from major events taking place at the University of Phoenix stadium. The Fiesta Bowl and BCS college football championship are expected to generate about $400 million, and the Super Bowl is expected to generate about $500 million for the city, according to an economic development study by ASU and press reports.
Other plans of action have been set into gear in order to accommodate the estimated 100,000 people who will embark on the city during the week leading up to the game.
In addition to developing contracts with surrounding cities to boost police and fire support for the week of Super Bowl 2008, Glendale Fire and Building officials have created a special events handbook to assist in the planning, setup, and operation of special events, exhibits and concerts.
The guidelines set forth in this document will help organizers in ensuring a safe and smooth event. The city also has its own public service departments working overtime during Super Bowl week.
City tightens security
In order to keep Super Bowl XLII safe for an estimated 150,000 spectators, the City of Glendale is boosting overtime pay for their police and fire departments while drawing in others from agencies statewide through the West Valley Law Enforcement Coalition.
Originally created when the University of Phoenix Stadium opened, this safety alliance has been heightened to include police and fire departments from state-wide municipalities like Flagstaff and Tucson. A security coalition of various cities is new to the NFL, who usually prefer a single lead security agency for their events.
Zane Hinde, a Glendale resident and police officer for the city, says officers are required to put in overtime hours the week of the game.
“Big events like this take a high priority because of an increased possibility of threats,” he said. “The city has been sending us updated briefings on safety plans about twice a month that include instructions on additional training specifically for the Super Bowl.”
To help fund their portion of the security boost, the City of Glendale has set aside $2 million that will pay for security equipment and overtime put in by public safety officials.
To prepare for the planning and execution of security tactics for the event, members of Glendale’s public-safety team attended the previous three Super Bowls in order to study the safety measures taken by the host cities. Glendale’s enforcement coalition for Super Bowl XLII also will see a presence from FEMA, who will provide emergency resources if needed, said officials at the Arizona Tourism Safety and Security Conference in Scottsdale.
The FBI also will be on hand to provide protection against possible terrorist threats. Other security plans include a handful of public-safety work groups whose job it will be to protect VIP attendees, provide police escorts and distribute credentials to event vendors.
Fans lucky enough to attend the big game should expect increased security in and around the stadium itself. Security officials are planning to set up a 300-foot perimeter around the venue where audience members must pass through metal detectors before taking their seats.
Security plans for Super Bowl XLII have been 16 months in the making and officials have tested planned procedures at previous sporting events like last year’s Fiesta Bowl and BCS Championship game. They plan to do a final run-through during the 2008 Fiesta Bowl as well.
Reach the reporters at jordan.jurkowitz@asu.edu or katarina.kovacevic@asu.edu.
