The controversy over the City of Glendale’s planned Black Lot Parking Garage is carrying over into the City budget.
Plans for the 3,864-space parking structure to primarily serve VAI Resorts’ new development near State Farm Stadium are on hold at the moment. State Farm Stadium and the Arizona Cardinals sued the City to stop the development, alleging it infringed on agreements to provide the Cardinals use of the parking lot intended for the garage site. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge agreed, and Glendale is currently appealing the ruling.
The Glendale Fiscal Year 2025 budget, however, has $93.6M in general fund capital projects listed, with $70.7M of that money allocated for the Black Lot garage.
The $70.7M garage development was presented last November with a planned offset of $58M under a development agreement with a private vendor to operate the facility and share profits with Glendale. That operating agreement is not in place.
Questions about the project and its funding arose in an April budget workshop. City Manager Kevin Phelps said Glendale cannot fund the total $70.7M on its own with its existing funding sources.
Phelps told the City Council the inclusion of the project in the budget is to primarily serve as a placeholder and that no money would be spent on construction contracts until all options were reviewed and resolved.
Any changes to the original proposal would have to return to City Council for hearings and approval before expenditures could take place. (Source)
