Goodyear's Newest Point of Pride

It has been a little over a week since thousands of excited fans watched the first pitches cross home plate at the Goodyear Ballpark, the new spring training home of the Cleveland Indians, and next year, the Cincinnati Reds. I’d like to share with you some of the comments about that day from Bill Fedor, a Valley resident and band leader of the orchestra that performed at the opening day festivities. Bill wrote: “The band played from 10AM to 1PM, during which time thousands of fans passed by our location. What impressed us was the enthusiastic response to our music of nearly all of the fans. They applauded, cheered, yelled, stopped to shake my hand, and take pictures. Granted, the folks may have been pumped because it was opening day, but my band members and I were struck by the warm, friendly response of the citizens of your city.”

The 2009 inaugural game held at our community’s latest point of pride and in the Cactus League’s finest stadium is the culmination of almost three years of vigorous negotiations, careful planning and firm resolve to put Goodyear on the map as a destination for sports fans, winter visitors and potential residents seeking the quality of life for which Goodyear has received national accolades.

Bringing spring training to Goodyear made sense for our community and for Major League Baseball. Arizona’s Cactus League is already an established entity in the state and across the country, with room and desire to expand. The most logical place for that expansion was in the West Valley. Goodyear is the fastest growing city in Maricopa County and home to Phoenix-Goodyear Municipal Airport and major business operations by industry giants such as Lockheed, Lufthansa and Macy’s.

The Goodyear Ballpark is the cornerstone to a much bigger vision for our community and its burgeoning economy. When completed, the 240-acre site will feature an attractive entertainment and retail complex of shops, restaurants, offices, and a hotel/conference center.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit the new ballpark, I encourage you to do so. This is your ballpark, a public facility owned and operated by the city of Goodyear. As your mayor, I hope that you will find as much pride in it as I do and share in my belief that this is just the beginning of better things to come to Goodyear. With your support, I look forward to four more years of building on that shared vision and building Goodyear into a community we can proudly call home.

Mayor Jim Cavanaugh
Goodyear


AN ELECTION REMINDER

This is just a friendly reminder that Tuesday, March 10, 2009, is Election Day for the Mayor and City Council of Goodyear. The city of Goodyear switched to a mail-in ballot for this year’s elections, and those ballots were sent to Goodyear’s registered voters last month. If you did not receive a ballot, or need a replacement, provisional ballots are still available at the Goodyear City Clerk's Office at City Hall, 190 N. Litchfield Road, Monday-Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Ballots that haven’t already been mailed in may be dropped off in person at the City Clerk’s office, but must be received by Tuesday, March 10, at 7 PM.