Downtown groups presented three potential sites for a $33-million stadium, each combined with an expansion of the existing convention center. Phoenix has pushed for a larger convention center for years, hoping to land the larger and more lucrative convention business that now passes Phoenix over.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Phoenix to dramatically enhance its convention facilities and create a true destination point here," says David Radcliffe, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix and Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The city is spending $50,000 to study three sites in the downtown area, two immediately Downtown and one farther west. The three sites include: a parcel of mostly vacant land west of 7th Avenue and south of Jefferson Street; a rail yard southeast of Bank One Ballpark, near 7th and Buchanan streets; and the old Phoenix Union High School site, at 7th and Van Buren streets.

Radcliffe said the Phoenix Union site offers the best opportunities to share uses with the convention center, but that's because it's the smallest parcel and has some private buildings.

Four other sites have been proffered outside Phoenix: a 108-acre site at the southeast corner of Loop 202 and Loop 101, on the border between Tempe and Mesa; a site in Tempe near the Tempe Town Lake; a 173-acre site at 99th Avenue and Thomas Road in the West Valley; and a stretch of land along the Beeline High in the East Valley, on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.

The Tourism and Sports Authority, which will build and operate the stadium, will narrow the list of potential sites to two by mid-January and choose the winner in mid-February. Construction will begin in August.

Instant Insights /

Downtown Phoenix Weighs in On Battle for $335-Mil Stadium

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