Looks like Flagstaff has given up on keeping the Arizona Cardinals
Mar 5, 2013, 11:19 PM | Updated: 11:28 pm
While nothing is set in stone or official from the team’s end, it appears the city of Flagstaff is prepared to move on without the Arizona Cardinals.
“Hosting an NFL team has been a bonus to the local economy, and we have enjoyed welcoming Cardinals fans back to their summer home for the last quarter century,” Northern Arizona University President John Haeger said in a press release.
According to the release, Haeger said the school will look for other ways to bring revenue to the city by using its ample housing, field and conference space to attract events.
But losing the Cardinals, who have made the area their training camp home for the last 25 years, is a significant blow to the city.
“We’ve had a solid partnership with the Cardinals for many years, and we wish them well,” Flagstaff Mayor Jerry Nabours said in the release. “Now we move forward in collaboration with the university, which has been a key partner in economic development for decades.”
The Cardinals’ three-year agreement to hold training camp in Flagstaff ended in 2012, and word leaked over the last couple months they were interested in moving the operation to Glendale, where they play regular season games. Haeger said the school “made an extraordinary offer and worked diligently” to keep the Cardinals in town, but alas it appears it was to no avail.
“We thank the many Cardinals fans who’ve made NAU a summer destination for nearly 25 years and supported the university, local businesses and the city,” Haeger said. “We look forward to welcoming you back for Lumberjack athletics and community events.”
