And you thought our government masters were looking out for YOU. Don't make me laugh. Our government masters usually lookout for themselves and the special interest groups that gave them money. You and the taxpayers who pay their salaries are the last person they look out for.
Of course this $1 million in corporate welfare for the Super Bowl and NFL shouldn't be a surprise because SRP’s president, David Rousseau, also is chairman of the Super Bowl Host Committee.
And it looks like David Rousseau is giving the rich owners of the NFL a
nice $1 million that they stole from us serfs.
SRP's $1 million donation to support 2015 Super Bowl questioned
By Ryan Randazzo The Republic | azcentral.com Tue Jan 1, 2013 5:47 PM
Salt River Project officials are offering a $1 million donation to support the 2015 Super Bowl in Glendale, raising questions from some customer advocates whether ratepayers should help fund the game.
SRP, a non-profit municipal utility, routinely donates to a variety of schools, museums and other community organizations. In fiscal 2011, SRP reported $3.2 million in cash and in-kind contributions for a variety of organizations, from the American Cancer Society to the YWCA.
Utility watchdogs say they are puzzled by the proposed donation for the National Football League’s signature game. When the donation is considered by a SRP board committee on Thursday, some board members said they would question what benefits the sizable deal brings to the utility and its customers.
SRP’s elected president, David Rousseau, also is chairman of the Super Bowl Host Committee, which is responsible for raising about $25 million from local businesses to help the NFL produce the game, and which would receive the money from SRP.
The $1 million donation to the host committee would consist of $225,000 cash, $575,000 of in-kind services, and $200,000 in electricity generated by solar power for the game, which is scheduled to be played at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Rousseau has been out of town for the holiday, and SRP officials said he was unavailable to discuss the deal and his role as part of the Super Bowl Host Committee.
Peter Hayes, a general manager and public-affairs executive at SRP, said the funding request did not come from Rousseau. “We knew we have been supportive of the Super Bowl and have been encouraging them to select Arizona as the site,” he said. “We view it as a terrific economic engine. When David got tapped (to be chairman), we anticipated we would continue our support of the Super Bowl because of the benefits it brings to the community.”
Hayes is scheduled to ask board members to approve the sponsorship at a committee meeting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the company headquarters at 1521 N. Project Drive in Tempe. If the panel approves the request, the full board also will review the deal.
“There are a lot of benefits that accrue to the community,” Hayes said. “That is why there is a keen competition to host the Super Bowl.”
He said the international exposure is good for the region, and what is good for the region is good for SRP customers.
“It is one of the most highly watched events during the course of the year, and Arizona shows very well when it hosts the Super Bowl,” he said.
During the last Super Bowl in Glendale, in 2008, SRP provided about $500,000 in cash and in-kind contributions as well as spending $200,000 to $300,000 to upgrade some of the utility infrastructure needed for the game, though that work would have been conducted eventually, Hayes said.
He said the money to be given to the Super Bowl will not reduce the amount the utility budgets for charitable giving this year.
He could not describe the specific benefits SRP would get for the sponsorship, because those details must be negotiated with the host committee once the board members approve the expense.
The host committee is a liaison between the NFL and the Super Bowl host region. It raises money and handles a variety of logistics, such as arranging hotel rooms and promoting the game.
When Glendale hosted the 2008 Super Bowl, Arizona-based companies contributed most of the more than $17 million to cover costs ranging from tents for the events to running the game. The committee recently estimated costs for the 2015 game to run close to $25 million.
The 2008 game generated a $500 million economic benefit for the state, according to a host-committee study. However, a Glendale-commissioned study showed the city spent $2.2 million more on logistics for the game than it collected in additional sales taxes.
Arizona also hosted a Super Bowl in 1996. It was held at Sun Devil Stadium, which is in Arizona Public Service Co. territory, and SRP’s involvement was smaller.
Regardless of the financial benefit to the state from the game, a utility consumer advocate said SRP should not be giving ratepayer money to the financially successful football league. “Any expenditure of money has to be in the furtherance of their business interest, for a business purpose,” said Tim Hogan, executive director of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest. “I don’t see how this falls into that category. It is incredible to me. They have a pretty unlimited view of what they can waste ratepayer money on.”
SRP raised rates an average of $6 a month in November on its nearly 1 million customers, some who tearfully pleaded with utility executives to hold rates steady in the wake of the recession.
Others also were surprised by the proposal.
“The thing that strikes me is the magnitude (of the proposed sponsorship),” said Amanda Ormond, a former Arizona Energy Office director who now works as a consultant and routinely deals with SRP. “We need corporate citizens that will spend on philanthropy to help our community. But why are we giving to the NFL at all?”
SRP is run by board members who are elected by people who own land in the utility territory. Those board members had not heard of the proposed NFL deal until Friday, when the meeting agenda was posted. Some said they would have questions, such as what benefit the $1 million gift would bring the utility and its ratepayers.
“I’m sure going to find out,” said board member William Arnett, who convinced the utility managers to postpone a rate increase in 2009 because he was concerned customers couldn’t handle the increase.
“I’m sure that this is for one of the friends of David Rousseau,” he said. “It is a considerable amount. We will find out about that. We certainly are not going to overpay for this stuff. If we don’t get a good return on our dollar, I don’t care for it.”
Board member Keith Woods also said he would question the size of the donation.
“Several years ago, when I chaired the community-relations committee, we approved a smaller sponsorship opportunity for the 2008 Super Bowl, on the basis that it would benefit the local economy, and SRP’s customers,” he said. “I can’t make a comment on the value of the current sponsorship request until I have it in front of me.”