Our View: Prop. 300 reflects commitment to Mesa's future

February 6, 2009

East Valley Tribune

Early voting ballots are arriving in Mesa ballot boxes for a March 10 election to determine if residents will support a rare moment to lock in a powerful new economic engine that would benefit the entire south East Valley.

Gaylord Entertainment wants to invest $1 billion at the Mesa Proving Grounds to build a 1,500-room resort and conference center with up to 2 million square feet of usable space. Simply put, this would be Arizona’s largest private destination for business and professional travel, creating 4,000 permanent jobs and spinning off a host of hospitality and retail opportunities.

But this is even bigger, as the Gaylord hotel would anchor future development across the entire 3,200 acres of the Proving Grounds. The vision of master-planner DMB Associates for what could happen on this site would elevate the area of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport to rival some of the best places to visit and to work in the entire country.

That heady claim might be hard for some to accept. But there seems to be a new hunger among the Mesa citizenry to become much more than a giant bedroom community. From the Mesa Arts Center to the planned Waveyard water adventure park, Mesa is embracing its status as one of the nation’s 50 largest cities and the type of features and amenities — and business opportunities — that should accompany that position.

While there are still good questions about the future of the Waveyard project, there should be no doubts about Gaylord.

The company already has four highly successful resort-convention centers in Texas, Tennessee, Florida and the Washington, D.C., area.

Proposition 300 reflects a portion of the tax incentives that Gaylord has requested to obtain a public investment in their success. Outside experts have estimated these incentives would be repaid, with interest, by the other taxes generated from this development.

Mesa voters are being asked to support returning

$51 million over three decades from hotel room taxes, with an understanding the money must be used to market Gaylord and a second, unannounced resort.

Some critics are suggesting Prop. 300 might violate the state constitution. But the truth is no one knows how the courts would view this arrangement. We urge voters to focus on whether Prop. 300 represents a good deal for themselves and their neighbors.

We believe a close look at the facts will propel almost anyone to vote “yes” on Prop. 300.

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"Gaylord Resorts leads the industry in employee satisfaction and enjoys one of the lowest turnover of employees compared to their competitors. This is one more reason why I urge you to vote YES on Prop 300."

Councilmember Dina Higgins