Downtown Phoenix, the heavy favorite when the race began, was eliminated because the board felt the issues regarding land availability and environmental clean up couldn't have been solved in time to have construction underway by August. The proposed Downtown parcel was adjacent to Bank One Ballpark and is owned by a railroad. The board also had a problem with parking issues and financing.
"Time has simply run out," says board chairman Jim Grogan. "They made an enormous effort, but they would need nine months to a year to address all the issues and put this together."
The TSA eliminated the Tempe/Mesa site because the financing package proposed put too much risk on the TSA. It was the most expensive of the sites to assemble and put in infrastructure, costing an estimated $78 million for infrastructure alone.
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