Jerry Colangelo (Owner – Phoenix Suns) . . . Confronted with skeptical political naysayers and self-anointed sports economics experts about the value of a new downtown arena in Phoenix, Colangelo retained us to conduct an economic impact study to provide him with an independent and rational tool that helped him argue his case before the Phoenix City Council. His vision and tough-mindedness have served the city well.

One City Council person called in an oppositional “expert” from a mid-western college to debunk our work. He claimed that our estimate of the project’s impact sounded (he never read our analysis and the study) like “Joe Isuzu economics.” Turns out that we may have under-estimated, not over-estimated the long term impact.