On Tuesday night, Avondale's City Council unanimously approved afinancing package and site proposal to be sent to the Tourism andSports Authority, the group that's deciding where to build the new73,000-seat stadium.

Avondale is proposing a 450-acre site at 99th Avenue and ThomasRoad. The parcel, and another 450 acres around it, is owned by homebuilder John F. Long, who will lease the land to the city for just$1.8 million a year, a fraction of the $25 million that Ernst &Young estimated that it would cost to buy the land. Long has alsopromised to purchase $28 million in city bonds, funds that would beused for parking and infrastructure improvements.

To assemble the parcel Avondale plans to annex 300 acres fromPhoenix, combining it with 150 acres already within Avondale toform the full parcel. "If we are not selected to be on the shortlist, there will be no further negotiations," says Avondale citymanager Scott Schrader.