--- description: Fans who attend the Super Bowl will encounter an entirely different city, a place that has bet its future on professional sports title: The Super Bowl Is a Bum Deal for My Town image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2777e5daeb9ff20c/69877c5ca988ca67756ac26e/glendale-arizona.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Culture](/tag/culture/) ## Culture Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Super Bowl Is a Bum Deal for My Town by [Zócalo Public Square](/author/zocalo-public-square/) ## Zócalo Public Square Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 31, 2015 12:00 PM CUT  View outside the University of Phoenix Stadium on Jan. 25, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. View outside the University of Phoenix Stadium on Jan. 25, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona.Christian Petersen—Getty Images by [Zócalo Public Square](/author/zocalo-public-square/) ## Zócalo Public Square Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 31, 2015 12:00 PM CUT My family and I moved to Glendale, Arizona — where the Super Bowl will be played this weekend — in 1968, when it was one of many small Arizona towns ringing Phoenix. Glendale was small and comfortable. Our young children walked a quarter mile to school. What is today the upscale area of Arrowhead was then a desert where we took the kids to ride motorbikes and shoot BB guns. On a spring evening, the air was heavy with the scent of citrus blossoms. Fans who attend the Super Bowl will encounter an entirely different city, a place that has bet its future on professional sports. If some locals look less than happy this weekend, know that it’s the risks involved in that gamble, not the traffic, that’s bothering us. Glendale has undergone dramatic change. At its incorporation in 1912, it was a Russian-Asian-Hispanic farming community. In the 1960s, when my family moved here, Glendale was a small city of 45,000\. Then, in the 1990s, while I served on the city council, new subdivisions, including Arrowhead, and new shopping, including Arrowhead Mall, grew up. But Glendale wanted more than to be just another Phoenix suburb. In the early 2000s, as I returned to the council, our attention turned to the possibilities of sports as a catalyst. A strategy took shape: if we built major sports venues, the resulting tourism and sales tax dollars would strengthen city coffers and allow for major improvements in the quality of life. ### The First Super Bowl: Rare Photos From a Football Classic  Not published in LIFE. The Kansas City Chiefs wait to take the field against the Packers prior to the start of Super Bowl I, Los Angeles, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kansas City's Fletcher Smith, with the Green Bay Packers massed behind him, prior to the start of Super Bowl I, Los Angeles, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Green Bay's Jerry Kramer - a tremendous offensive lineman who, incredibly (and shamefully), was never inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Ñ in Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Green Bay's Elijah Pitts eludes Kansas City defenders, Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Chiefs linebacker E. J. Holub, Super Bowl I, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Packers head coach Vince Lombardi, Super Bowl I, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Green Bay wide receiver Max McGee, Super Bowl I, 1967\. His line for the game: seven receptions, 138 yards, two TDs. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Green Bay QB and game MVP Bart Starr, Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Elijah Pitts (#22) running the Packers' "power sweep," Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Tight end Reggie Carolan in the Chiefs' locker room, Super Bowl I, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kansas City defensive lineman Jerry Mays prior to Super Bowl I, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Quarterback Len Dawson in the Chiefs' locker room, Super Bowl I, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kansas City sideline, Super Bowl I, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Green Bay receiver Carroll Dale hit by the Chiefs' Willie Mitchell, Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Green Bay's Jim Taylor (#31), Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kansas City's injured Fred Williamson carried off the field, Super Bowl I, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kansas City head coach Hank Stram, Super Bowl I, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Paul Hornung (#5), a future Hall of Famer who did not play in the game due to injury, Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Jim Taylor tackled by the Chiefs' Sherrill Headrick, Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Jim Taylor, Super Bowl I, 1967\. Packer lineman at left is the great Fuzzy Thurston. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Jim Taylor, Super Bowl I, 1967. Art Rickerby—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. On the Kansas City sideline, Super Bowl I, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Fred "The Hammer" Williamson led from the field at the end of the first Super Bowl, 1967\. Williamson broke his arm during the game. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Sherrill Headrick, Jerry Mays and other Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl I, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. The Packers' Herb Adderley and Kansas City's tight end Fred Arbanas head to the lockers after Green Bay's 35-10 victory in Super Bowl I, Los Angeles, 1967. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images First, a city-owned venue for professional hockey and for entertainment and a complementary retail complex, Westgate, were built in partnership with a developer. Then, with the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, we created two more sports facilities: the county-owned University of Phoenix football stadium (home to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals) and a city-owned spring training baseball facility called Camelback Ranch (home-away-from-home to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox). The football stadium put Glendale in the Super Bowl business for the first time; promised windfalls from hosting the big game were supposed to afford us the option of paying off construction debt related to the hockey arena and the baseball facility sooner. But it wasn’t long before optimistic staff projections of increased sales tax receipts and new economic development proved to be wrong. Then came the national recession, just as we hosted our first Super Bowl in 2008\. The big game, was supposed to draw new development to the city, but didn’t. Instead, it left the city with bills. The city spent $3.4 million on the event and recouped a little over $1.2 million in sales tax and fees. The resulting $2.2 million loss was just one sign that our sports strategy was unsustainable. Debt related to the two sports venues that Glendale itself owned — the hockey arena and the ballpark — proved to be a financial albatross. The regular season football games proved to be a wash financially. While sales tax revenues from Westgate are greater on game days, the additional revenue is consumed by increased public safety and transportation costs. Other Super Bowl host cities, Miami Gardens in Florida and the Arlington area in Texas, have mechanisms for state reimbursement of their hosting costs, but we don’t. Legislation to provide such reimbursement to Glendale hasn’t made it through the Arizona legislature. In recent years, Glendale’s mayor has concluded it doesn’t seem prudent to be in the Super Bowl hosting business if there is no way to recover its costs. So why is the Super Bowl in Glendale again? The Super Bowl bid process is a long one, and locations are approved many years before the actual event. Tremendous political pressure was placed on the city from the owners of the Arizona Cardinals, swaying a majority of the council to approve the bid in 2011\. I was not in the majority. There are good things about the Super Bowl. Even though Glendale loses money, the state, the county and the Phoenix area share in an economic boost of $500 million. Direct TV is hosting a major music festival in Glendale across the street from the stadium, and the city holds one of its premier events, the Chocolate Affaire, Super Bowl. The confluence of chocolate lovers and football fans will generate revenue for Glendale’s merchants and restaurants. But costs to host this year’s Super Bowl will be greater than they were in 2008\. The city’s loss for this game is sure to be greater than $2.2 million. We love Glendale and so will this year’s Super Bowl visitors. But many of us here believe this should be Glendale’s last Super Bowl. _Joyce Clark is a 47-year resident of Glendale and served on the City Council for sixteen years. She retired in 2013 and now spends time maintaining a back yard pond populated by Japanese Koi and is a_ [_blog writer on local Glendale issues_](http://www.joyceclarkunfiltered.com "undefined")_. She wrote this article for_ [_Zocalo Public Square_](http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ "undefined")_._ ### See All 48 Superbowl Rings  Super Bowl I - Green Bay Packers National Football League  Super Bowl II - Green Bay Packers National Football League  Super Bowl III - New York Jets National Football League  Super Bowl IV - Kansas City Chiefs National Football League  Super Bowl V - Baltimore Colts National Football League  Super Bowl VI - Dallas Cowboys National Football League  Super Bowl VII - Miami Dolphins National Football League  Super Bowl VIII - Miami Dolphins National Football League  Super Bowl IX - Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League  Super Bowl X - Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League  Super Bowl XI - Oakland Raiders National Football League  Super Bowl XII - Dallas Cowboys National Football League  Super Bowl XIII - Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League  Super Bowl XIV - Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League  Super Bowl XV - Oakland Raiders National Football League  Super Bowl XVI - San Francisco 49ers National Football League  Super Bowl XVII - Washington Redskins National Football League  Super Bowl XVIII - Los Angeles Raiders National Football League  Super Bowl XIX - San Francisco 49ers National Football League  Super Bowl XX - Chicago Bears National Football League  Super Bowl XXI - New York Giants National Football League  Super Bowl XXII - Washington Redskins National Football League  Super Bowl XXIII - San Francisco 49ers National Football League  Super Bowl XXIV - San Francisco 49ers National Football League  Super Bowl XXV - New York Giants National Football League  Super Bowl XXVI - Washington Redskins National Football League  Super Bowl XXVI - Dallas Cowboys National Football League  Super Bowl XXVIII - Dallas Cowboys National Football League  Super Bowl XXIX - San Francisco 49ers National Football League  Super Bowl XXX - Dallas Cowboys National Football League  Super Bowl XXXI - Green Bay Packers National Football League  Super Bowl XXXII - Denver Broncos National Football League  Super Bowl XXXIII - Denver Broncos National Football League  Super Bowl XXXIV - St. Louis Rams National Football League  Super Bowl XXXV - Baltimore Ravens National Football League  Super Bowl XXXVI - New England Patriots National Football League  Super Bowl XXXVII - Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League  Super Bowl XXXVIII - New England Patriots National Football League  Super Bowl XXXIX - New England Patriots National Football League  Super Bowl XL - Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League  Super Bowl XLI - Indianapolis Colts National Football League  Super Bowl XLII - New York Giants National Football League  Super Bowl XLIII - Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League  Super Bowl XLIV - New Orleans Saints National Football League  Super Bowl XLV - Green Bay Packers National Football League  Super Bowl XLVI - New York Giants National Football League  Super Bowl XLVII - Baltimore Ravens National Football League  Super Bowl XLVIII - Seattle Seahawks National Football League ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3686325/glendale-arizona-super-bowl/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3686325/glendale-arizona-super-bowl/"},"headline":"The Super Bowl Is a Bum Deal for My Town","datePublished":"2015-01-31T12:00:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:59.063Z","description":"Many of us here believe this should be Glendale’s last","url":"https://time.com/3686325/glendale-arizona-super-bowl/","keywords":["Culture","Sports topic","Football","Super Bowl topic","Arizona"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2777e5daeb9ff20c/69877c5ca988ca67756ac26e/glendale-arizona.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zócalo Public Square","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zocalo-public-square/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2777e5daeb9ff20c/69877c5ca988ca67756ac26e/glendale-arizona.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"View outside the University of Phoenix Stadium on Jan. 25, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona.","caption":"View outside the University of Phoenix Stadium on Jan. 25, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona.","creditText":"Christian Petersen—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/culture/","name":"Culture"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3686325/glendale-arizona-super-bowl/","name":"The Super Bowl Is a Bum Deal for My Town"}}]}] ```