Is it worth $150M to keep Suns in Phoenix?

The city of Phoenix can’t afford to hire enough police officers to patrol the streets, but it soon could be shelling out $150 million to keep the Phoenix Suns happy. This, without bothering to ask the city’s voters whether they want to make a major upgrade to Talking Stick Resort Arena.

City sources tell me there’s a push on to get the deal done. Talk of an arena deal has ramped up inside City Hall this month — ever since Kate Gallego, the leading candidate for Phoenix mayor, announced she would not support putting city money into a new or improved arena for the Suns.

“While I intend to be a partner with the Suns on the many great things they do for the city, it is not in Phoenix’s best interest to invest in an arena,” she said Nov. 8. Since then, the City Council has met privately twice to discuss an arena proposal. It’s unclear whether the votes are there to approve it. Given that acting Mayor Thelda Williams’ council seat was not filled when Greg Stanton resigned as mayor, it would take only four votes to kill the deal.

What is clear: Taxpayers are about to get hosed if this deal goes through.

By law, the city must get permission from voters to build a new arena. But plunking down $150 million to “refurbish” an existing arena? No public approval needed — at least, as far as city leaders see it.

City Manager Ed Zuercher, who I’m told is pushing the plan along with Williams, declined to comment, saying the negotiations are confidential. But others have told me that the deal is now on track to be finished before year’s end, to avoid becoming an issue in the mayoral runoff election.

Councilman Sal DiCiccio said he thinks the city can go forward because the voter-approved ordinance says only that public approval is needed before building a new sports facility.

“I believe legally that we can do this,” he said. “The real question is whether or not the intent of the voters was to do that, and I don’t know that.”

Under terms of the deal, I’m told the city would put in $150 million up front, with another $2 million a year for maintenance. The Suns would kick in $80 million. This, in a city that can’t afford to fill potholes.

The arena vote is expected to take place in early December — ramming it down the city’s throat before a new mayor is elected. This, for fear of losing the team in 2022, when the Suns can opt out of their lease if their digs are deemed “obsolete.”

“What we’re really saying is we’re not going to hire police, we’re not going to hire firefighters, we’re not going to fix the streets,” one city leader told me. “We’re going to refurbish the arena.”

This, so you can watch lousy basketball. That’s assuming you can pay what it costs for a seat.