Enough swings and misses. Over the years, the Pima County Sports & Tourism Authority has swung and missed on some pretty wild pitches.
There was Japanese baseball, and then there wasn't. There was the three-team, $150 million stadium idea in Marana to woo the Baltimore Orioles, who stayed in Florida (was it ever really a choice?). A little more than a year ago there was talk about using the authority's potential tourism tax to fund a downtown arena for University of Arizona basketball. That turned out to be an air ball.
And there is talk yet again about having the authority fund a new arena plan. City Councilman Paul Cunningham has made allusions to the authority potentially funding part of his arena illusion, while others have talked about the authority pursuing its own project.
It's all talk.
It's all enough to make people wonder just what the authority is doing. More pointedly, why does the authority even exist? After all, soccer burst on the scene without its help.
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For those keeping score at home, the sports and tourism authority was created in 2009 specifically to bring back Major League Baseball spring training to Pima County. The legislation that created it threw a bone to youth and amateur sports, but the main focus was and is Major League Baseball.
The authority was given a window of time to bring a tourism tax measure to voters. The tax on hotels, restaurants and retail would fund a major stadium project, which in theory would bring back spring training. If we build it, they will come.
Only the window of time is closing, and no one is coming.
The tourist tax needs to be brought to voters by November 2014, but there is no team to warrant a major project.
"Since there currently are no pending professional sports franchises considering Pima County for relocation or spring training, it appears there are no core professional sports projects to fund," Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry recently wrote in a memo to Deputy County Administrator Hank Atha. "What projects and/or programs are envisioned by the Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority for professional or amateur sports improvements?"
Here's ChuckHuck's underlying point: The only thing the authority could possibly have going for it is amateur sports, but that's not something it has ever focused on.
"They've tried a lot of things, and none of them have really panned out," Huckelberry said.
And that's how the Pima County Sports & Tourism Authority finds itself in an existential crisis. Why is it here? What is its purpose?
"Everybody has got a long memory with regard to how we were fundamentally betrayed by Major League Baseball," he said. "The only other option is amateur sports, and this community has huge needs in terms of amateur sports and parks development."
The authority's board is considering a proposal to study what might be the best sports facilities to build, said Mike Holmes, the authority's executive director. There is no commitment to an arena plan, although it has been talked about in casual conversation, he said.
"We are trying to be even-handed about it," Holmes said. "Not just default to the most popular location or the biggest town in the county."
The board also needs to decide if it would put the tourism tax on the ballot in 2013 or 2014.
Both have risks. Put the tax on the 2013 ballot, and there isn't much lead time to sell a project to voters. Put it on the 2014 ballot, and the authority is going up against Huckelberry's bond package, perhaps dooming them both.
Is an arena an appropriate project for the Pima County Sports & Tourism Authority?
"No," Huckelberry said.
Huckelberry's concerns are numerous. An arena does little to nothing for amateur sports. There is no team to anchor it. Perhaps most importantly, it sets itself up as a Rio Nuevo II: a special taxing entity with little accountability tackles a huge project.
"It's too intertwined with the difficulty that is already occurring with Rio Nuevo," he said.
It's clear Huckelberry thinks projects that benefit amateur sports are the authority's only ticket, saying perhaps the authority could fund some of the sports complexes in the county's bond package.
"I think now including any professional sports (facilities) might have the effect to doom a good amateur program," he said.
There are many ways to read Huckelberry's memo. On one hand, he is simply asking about the authority's plans given the election deadline. But he's also questioning its very existence and usefulness to the community, especially when board members start talking about shiny new arenas.
The message has been sent. We'll see if the authority has received it.
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Contact columnist Josh Brodesky at 573-4242 or jbrodesky@azstarnet.com
