Landowner, city fight in court over Suns documents

Does Phoenix have to publicly release a study that details the Phoenix Suns’ revenue strategies and arenarenovation needs?

That was the topic of discussion before a Maricopa County Superior Court judge Tuesday. The city argued that it should be able to withhold certain confidential documents from a public-records request.

Bramley Paulin, a downtown Phoenix landowner, requested a number of documents related to the potential renovations of city-owned Talking Stick Resort Arena, where the Suns play.

The city provided more than 100 pages of records to Paulin, according to city testimony in court. But it declined to release a feasibility study that the Suns privately procured.

The Suns paid a consultant to produce a comprehensive study about the team and the arena, which includes things such as ticket-pricing strategies, new marketing ideas and cost estimates of arena renovations, Suns Executive Vice President Jim Pitman said in court.

The Suns and Phoenix City Council have been meeting in executive session to discuss renovating the 26-yearold arena for more than a year. At some point during those discussions, the team agreed to provide the city with a copy of the feasibility study, subject to a nondisclosure agreement.

However, the city must comply with state public-records law that requires the release of most city documents. Legal arguments Tuesday focused on whether the feasibility study is a public record and, if so, does the non-disclosure agreement trump state law?

Attorneys for the city and the Suns argued that the study is not a public record because it was privately paid for by the Suns and does not belong to the city. Additionally, they argued that even if it were a public record, there are compelling reasons to keep the information confidential.

Phoenix special-projects manager Jeremy Legg testified that there are four primary ways the study’s release would hurt the public interest:

❚ The Suns paid the consultant to research new marketing and revenue ideas. Releasing that information would make the advice available to the teams’ competitors for free.

❚ The study documents the arena’s deficiencies. Competitors could advertise those issues to lure clients.

❚ The forced release of the study would have a “chilling effect” on future dealings with city partners because they likely would not feel comfortable providing the city with “frank and honest” information, knowing it could become public.

❚ The study includes pricing estimates for arena renovations. If the city decides to move forward with renovations and the study is released, potential bidders will already know what the city is willing to pay, which could lead to less competitive bidding.

The conservative Goldwater Institute and local attorney Alexander Kolodin represented Paulin, and refuted Legg’s arguments.

Kolodin said Legg’s concerns about financial implications of the study’s release were speculation and not rooted in proof.

Kolodin also questioned why the team released the document to the city if it were produced solely for the Suns. He argued the document became a public record when the city received it, and the non-disclosure agreement is moot.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten said he would confidentially review the feasibility study and issue a decision quickly. Regardless of the outcome, an appeal is expected.

The Suns and Phoenix City Council have been meeting in executive session to discuss renovating the 26-year-old arena for more than a year.