The ongoing legal saga between Arizona State University and the Arizona Cardinals has spilled over into the Schools budget, forcing cutbacks due to the lawsuit's price tag now reaching a half million dollars.
Smith would not specify Monday which cuts would occur, but he has said staff and athletic programs would be eliminated if the Cardinals win their suit.The university, meanwhile, has softened its stance on whether the NFL team was damaged after ASU flooded Sun Devil Stadium with new sponsorship signs, saying that the Cardinals could be entitled to $258,482.
That, however, is a fraction of the nearly $12 million the Cardinals are seeking.
Arizona State's offer could change to nothing depending on a review of the Cardinals' financial records, which the NFL team has refused to turn over. Those records are not material to the dispute, the Cardinals said, and the team does not want the public to know how much money it made.
At issue is which of the warring parties should reap the financial rewards of lucrative sponsorship signs inside Sun Devil Stadium.
The Cardinals, who rent the stadium, contend they were significantly damaged in 1999, when ASU installed 31 new permanent signs, with all of the money flowing to the university. Another dozen signs were added the past three years.
The Cardinals said they lost prime real estate and were unable to sell sponsorships.
The Cardinals sued ASU on Nov. 16, 2000, nine days after Maricopa County voters approved a $355 million, publicly financed stadium for the team.
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