Lawsuit pits 2 men against Scottsdale over Phoenix Open
Oct 23, 2013, 1:26 PM | Updated: 1:26 pm
PHOENIX — Two men are suing the City of Scottsdale over its deal to host the Phoenix Open golf tournament.
John Washington and Mark Stuart filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Maricopa Superior Court. Court documents also list elected city officials as defendants in claims that the groups were subsidizing the golf complex that hosts the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
The complaint said the city “illegally” used “money collected from hardworking taxpayers to subsidize private interests and the recreational activities of the wealthy,”
and that the city was “lavishing the Tournament and the TPC with millions of dollars in new ‘freebies’ paid for” by Scottsdale residents.
“Freebies” included improvements to the 400-acre site and clubhouse at Hayden Road near Princess Drive that will cost $25 million. The city would get $4 million of benefits in return, the lawsuit said. Such a one-sided deal is against the Arizona Constitution, the document cited, adding it also breaks the city charter.
A Scottsdale official said the city would defend itself.
