The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community has announced the selection of a general contractor to develop and build a multi-purpose spring training facility that will house both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies in spring 2011.
Through a selection committee, the SRPMIC has selected Mortenson Construction as the general contractor for the spring training complex, which will be built west of the Loop 101 Freeway and north of Indian Bend Road.
“Mortenson is honored and excited to work with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Colorado Rockies to bring a world-class spring training facility to the northeast Valley,” said Ron Wilson, general manager of Mortenson’s Phoenix office. “Mortenson has a long history of developing world-class sports facilities across the country and here in Arizona, and we look forward to working with all the project partners and owners.”
Mortenson Construction’s recent projects include Glendale’s Camelback Ranch facility, built for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. Other Arizona projects include the All You Can Eat Seats, installation of the high-definition Daktronics scoreboard and multiple suite renovations at Chase Field; Big League Dreams Sports Park in Gilbert; and the ASU Weatherup Basketball Practice Facility in Tempe.
Nationally, the company’s other notable sports projects include Coors Field, Denver; FedEx Forum, Memphis; Sprint Center, Kansas City; ShoWare Center, Kent, Wash.; Downtown Louisville Arena, Louisville; Target Field, Minneapolis; University of Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis; and Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul.
“Mortenson Construction has a great breadth of experience as contractors for major sports facilities that will ensure a dynamic and top-quality project for our partners and for baseball fans that will come to our Community for spring training in 2011,” said Martin Harvier, vice president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. “We look forward to working with them to build a spring training home for our Major League partners and to develop the very best sports facility in the Valley.”
Construction of the 11,000-seat capacity ballpark will begin in coming weeks with a formal groundbreaking in the middle of November 2009. As part of its design, the spring training facility will feature 12 practice fields and office buildings with Major and Minor League clubhouses, training facilities and offices for each team.
“The construction of the complex will provide a much needed boost to the local construction economy. Mortenson anticipates the project will utilize dozens of local subcontractors and generate several thousand construction jobs,” Wilson said.
HKS Architects will design the spring training complex. Most recently, HKS and Mortenson designed and constructed Glendale’s Camelback Ranch facility for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox and HKS designed Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
Mortenson Background:
Mortenson’s Phoenix office was established in 2000. The office specializes in the construction of sports facilities, higher education, hospitality, commercial office, healthcare, data centers and federal, state and municipal facilities. Mortenson first entered the sports and entertainment construction market more than 20 years ago and has built nearly 100 arenas, ballparks and stadiums totaling more than $2.5 billion. In current rankings of the top 400 contractors by Engineering News-Record, Mortenson is the third-largest sports facilities builder in the U.S.
Founded in 1954, Mortenson Construction is a U.S.-based, family-owned construction company. As one of the nation’s top builders, Mortenson provides a complete range of services, including planning, program management, preconstruction, general contracting, construction management, design-build, and turn-key development. Mortenson has additional offices in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Seattle with international operations in Canada and China.
How important is a win Sunday for the Arizona Cardinals if they intend to break the Super Bowl curse and reach the postseason the year after losing the big game?
Consider that the odds are already statistically against the 1-2 Cardinals reaching the postseson. If they lose to Houston on Sunday and drop to 1-3, the odds of the Cardinals reaching the playoffs are only 16 percent.
Should the Cardinals win, they would move to 2-2 and improve their odds, but still only face a 36 percent chance of reaching the playoffs.
Phoenix Coyotes President and Chief Operating Officer Douglas Moss announced today that the Coyotes’ 2009-10 Home Opener versus the Columbus Blue Jackets will be televised live on AZ-TV at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10.
“We’d like to thank AZ-TV for agreeing to broadcast this year’s Home Opener,” said Moss. “There has been tremendous anticipation for our first home game of the season, which will feature the first-ever WhiteOut at Jobing.com Arena. When the game was not on the original broadcast slate due to a previous scheduling commitment on FOX Sports Arizona, we explored alternatives so that our fans would still be able to watch the game live on television, and both AZ-TV and FOX Sports Arizona were extremely supportive in working with us to find a way to bring this game to our fans.”
Cox Cable subscribers and over-the-air viewers will be able to view the game in High Definition. All other providers will air the game in Standard Definition.
“AZ-TV is pleased to be televising the 2009-10 Home Opener for the Phoenix Coyotes,” said AZ-TV General Manager Jeff Burnton. “The upcoming WhiteOut is a tremendous opportunity for the viewers in Arizona to experience the excitement that is Coyotes hockey.”
The Coyotes’ television broadcasting team of play-by-play announcer Dave Strader, color analyst Tyson Nash and host/reporter Todd Walsh will bring Coyotes fans all the action. In addition to the AZ-TV broadcast, the game will also air throughout Arizona and in New Mexico on tape delay at 10:45 p.m. Saturday on FOX Sports Arizona.
The Coyotes are holding a “Welcome Back WhiteOut” during the Home Opener to celebrate the beginning of the 2009-10 season. All fans in attendance at the game will receive a “Welcome Back WhiteOut” t-shirt and white pom-poms, courtesy of Jobing.com.
Suns center Robin Lopez will undergo surgery to repair a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot, the club announced today. The procedure to insert a screw will be performed, Tuesday, Oct. 6, by Dr. Gus Armendariz at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix.
Lopez, who suffered the fracture during the second half of Saturday night’s intra-squad scrimmage in San Diego, is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
As a rookie in 2008-09, the Stanford product averaged 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds while appearing in 60 games.
Arizona State (2-1) opens its Pac-10 schedule Saturday night as they host Oregon State (2-2, 0-1). Here are some game notes entering the Sun Devils fourth game of the season. The game airs on Versus beginning at 4 p.m. Arizona time.
Arizona State is 12-17-2 in Pac-10 opening games since joining the conference in 1978, including victories in four of the past five. The Sun Devils won their Pac-10 opener last season, beating Stanford 41-17 in Tempe. October 3 marks the latest start to Pac-10 play for ASU since 1992, when the Sun Devils faced the Oregon Ducks on October 3. The latest Arizona State has ever opened Pac-10 play was in 1987, when they traveled to Seattle to play Washington on October 10.
Beginning Pac-10 play with Oregon State is nothing new for the Sun Devils, who have opened conference play with the Beavers eight times since joining the conference in 1978, the most of any Pac-10 foe. ASU has a 6-2 record in Pac-10 openers against the Beavers. Washington is next on the list, having played ASU seven times in the conference opener for the Devils.
Dimitri Nance has solidified his hold on the starting running back spot over the past two games. The senior rushed for 82 yards against ULM, then ran for 92 against the Bulldogs. The 92-yard game equals Nance’s career high, set in 2007 against Washington and equaled in 2008 against UNLV. Nance also caught a touchdown pass, a six yarder from Danny Sullivan for his first career receiving touchdown.
Highly touted true freshman linebacker Vontaze Burfict has been proving that he is worth all the hype through his first three collegiate games. Burfict had a coming-out party against Georgia at Sanford Stadium, leading the Sun Devils with 11 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Burfict made several highlight-reel plays, headed by his flying leap over the Georgia offensive line and subsequent tackle for loss on a fourth-and-one play, giving ASU the ball back. Through the first three games of 2009, Burfict leads Arizona State with 21 tackles. He’s recorded three tackles for loss, a quarterback sack and a fumble recovery.
Freshman kicker Bobby Wenzig was expected to redshirt in 2009, but that changed when he was forced into emergency action against ULM on September 19. Filling in for an injured Thomas Weber (hip), Wenzig has gone 7-7 on PATs and 2-3 on field goals for 13 points. The one miss was a blocked kick last week in Georgia that likely would have won the game. Wenzig has struggled on getting elevation on his kicks, which has led to speculation that emergency kicker Mike Nixon may get a crack at it.
ASU collected three more turnovers against Georgia, intercepting two passes and recovering a fumble. That gives the Sun Devils 11 total on the year, including eight INTs. The Sun Devils currently hold a turnover ratio of 11 to 1. The +10 leads the nation and the ASU defense has now scored two touchdowns on interception returns.
When three-time defending 4A-I state champ Scottsdale Saguaro got its first look at the 2009 football schedule, the Sabercats knew Friday night’s game at Canyon del Oro posed the biggest threat to its state-long winning streak. It turns out the concerns were warranted.
CdO not only ended Saguaro’s winning streak at 37 games, they did so convincingly with a shocking 44-0 dismantling that closed the seemingly wide gap between the champs and its contenders. The game was a rematch from the 2007 state title game which Saguaro won 23-21 on a field goal with two seconds remaining in the game.
CdO running back Ka’Deem Carey was unstoppable, rushing 19 times for a school-record 299 yards and four touchdowns. Three of those scores came on runs of 85, 45 and 57 yards.
The teams played a scoreless first quarter but then CdO (6-0) broke the game open in the second quarter and took a 17-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Saguaro (4-1) not only struggled to figure out a way to stop Carey as CdO continued building its lead via the ground attack, but its own usually potent offense was shut down cold. Canyon del Oro hadn’t allowed more than 13 points in a game this season, but Scottsdale figured to pose more of a threat. CdO proved otherwise.
The defeat marked the first loss for Saguaro head coach John Sanders, who still owns an impressive 32-1 career record.The 37-game winning streak is a 4A state record but was still a few seasons off the overall state record of 63 held by 3A Lakeside Blue Ridge.
Saguaro should get itself right next week when it travels to play 2-4 Moon Valley.
Meanwhile, Canyon del Oro looks to continue build its standing as a leading contender for the 4A-I state title when it travels to take on 2-4 Tucson Catalina Foothills.
2A St. Johns, which owned the second longest winning streak in the state entering the season, saw that end at 26 with a week 2 loss to Round Valley.
Diamondbacks Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick has “strongly disputed” a FoxSports.com report that the team was for sale. Kendrick: “It’s a complete and total fabrication of the highest order. That’s the last thing on my mind.”
Kendrick noted that it “would make no sense for he and the ownership group to sell after it raised” $50M in capital earlier this year to reinvest in the team.
A sale also wouldn’t make sense because the economy is still down, another local team is for sale with few or no potential buyers and most importantly, the Diamondbacks are hosting the 2011 MLB All Star Game.
A story in today’s New York Daily News says, according to a new tell-book that workers at an Arizona cryonics facility mutilated the frozen head of baseball legend Ted Williams – even using it for a bizarre batting practice.
In “Frozen,” Larry Johnson, a former exec at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz., graphically describes how The Splendid Splinter” was beheaded, his head frozen and repeatedly abused.
High school football fans can catch three games that are airing online Friday night exclusively on AIA365.com. Here are previews for the matchups.
Kingman (2-2, 0-2) at Mountain Ridge (1-3, 0-1)
This game features two teams who are still looking for their first win in the 5A-II Northwest Region.
Kingman has alternated wins and losses this season and is coming off a 21-14 loss to Goldwater last week. The Bulldogs haven’t been especially dominant on offense this season and the biggest threat they have is running back Kyle Lombardi who leads the team with four rushing touchdowns and is averaging eight yards per carry. Defensively, Kingman is led by Jeremy Adler who is averaging more than 10 tackles per game.
Mountain Ridge has struggled on offense this season scoring just 43 points in its four games while allowing 113. The Mountain Lions have scored just 13 points in the last two games and are yet to score in the first quarter this season. The modest Mountain Ridge running game is paced by back P.J. Sparks, who is the brother of American Idol winner Jordin Sparks and son of former NFL cornerback Phillippi Sparks.
Sinagua (0-4) at Cactus Shadows (4-0)
This game is a non-region matchup against winless Flagstaff Sinagua from the 4A-II Grand Canyon Region against undefeated Cactus Shadows of the 4A-I Desert Sky region.
Sinagua has earned it winless record averaging just 153 yards of offense per game. The Mustangs have scored more than six points in a game just once and have lost its four games by an average of 28 points. They do have a stud on defense in Hayden Renning, who is averaging an amazing 17.3 tackles per game and has forced four fumbles.
Cactus Shadows has been very impressive so far this season since puling off a surprise one-point victory over Cienega in the season opener, including a 29-22 win last week against 4A contender Paradise Valley.
The Falcons feature a balanced attack and are lethal in the air and on the ground. Quarterback Dillon Classen already has 11 touchdowns on the season although he has also thrown six interceptions. Zach Sexton is the feature back and is averaging 90 yards per game.
Ironwood Ridge (1-4, 0-1) at Rincon (1-4, 0-1)
This game features a matchup of Tucson schools and 5A-II Southern Region rivals, who are each searching for their second win of the season and first league win.
Ironwood Ridge has dropped three straight since winning its week 2 game against Skyline. The Nighthawks are led by quarterback Tyler D’Amore who has completed 57 percent of his passes this season. Three of his receivers have caught at least 10 passes and have at least two touchdowns. Running back Adrian Brahler paces the rushing attack and is strong on kickoff and punt returns.
Rincon has also dropped three in a row since its week 2 win against Hayden. The Rangers have allowed an average of 36 points in their four losses.
After months of back-and-forth disputes over who would ultimately obtain control of the Phoenix Coyotes franchise, Judge Redfield T. Baum has turned down both bids by the National Hockey League and Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie.
“In hockey parlance, the court is passing the puck to the NHL, who can decide to take another shot at the sale net or it can pass off the puck,” Judge Baum wrote on Wednesday.
Judge Baum threw out the bid by Balsillie, saying it could not work because he could not properly satisfy the NHL’s rights regarding relocation. “In the final analysis, the court cannot find or conclude that the interests of the NHL can be adequately protected if the Coyotes are moved to Hamilton without first having a final decision regarding the claimed rights of the NHL and the claims of the debtors and (Balsillie),” he ruled.
“We are pleased that the Bankruptcy Court has confirmed the League’s rights to select its owners and the location of its franchises,” said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. “We are reviewing the opinion and considering how we can best address the Court’s concerns regarding our offer to purchase the Coyotes. It remains our goal to secure the long-term stability of the Coyotes in Glendale.”
Read a report from TSN here: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=293208
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How important is a win Sunday for the Arizona Cardinals if they intend to break the Super Bowl curse and reach the postseason the year after losing the big game?
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