The team that came to be known as the Arizona Cardinals was originally founded in 1898, and is among the oldest professional football team in America. It is also one of few NFL teams that have called three separate states home.
The Bidwill family has owned the Cardinals since 1932, and although they are one of the oldest football team’s for much of their history they have been rather unsuccessful. While they are the reining NFC Champions this team has only one won five division titles, and played in only one Super Bowl. Of course they do have two NFL championships (1925,1947).
This team has played home games at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Sun Devils Stadium in Arizona, and finally University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Currently Forbes Sports money has the Cardinals worth 914 million dollars. Interesting enough that amount makes them the 26th most valuable NFL franchise, ranked just below the Detroit Lions at 25th. This is one of those odd little quirks in how the NFL business model works, the reining NFC champions are worth less than a team that just went 0-16. Of course this ranking may be due to years of mismanagement and a culture of losing that has enveloped the Cardinals.
The 914 million dollar worth can be broken down like this:
Sport- 610 million
Market- 131 million
Stadium- 106 million
Brand Management- 68 million
Note: Sport: Portion of franchise's value attributable to revenue shared among all teams. Market: Portion of franchise's value attributable to its city and market size. Stadium: Portion of franchise's value attributable to its stadium. Brand Management: Portion of franchise's value attributable to the management of its brand.
As previously mentioned the Cardinals play their home games at University of Phoenix Stadium. A look at that facility’s details:
• Built- 2006
• Capacity- 63,400
• Cost- 395 million
• Owner- Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority
A look at the Cardinals Front office:
Chairman and Owner- William Bidwill
President- Michael Bidwill
Vice President- William Bidwill Jr.
Chief Operating Officer- Ron Minegar
Chief Financial Officer- Greg Lee
Salary cap Guru- Justin Casey
GM- Rod Graves
Director of Player Personnel- Steve Keim
Director of Pro Personnel- TJ McCreight
Director of Football Administration- Reggie Terry
Pro Scout- Quentin Harris
The current Cardinals Coaching Staff:
Head Coach- Ken Whisenhunt
Asst. Head Coach/Running game coordinator/OL- Russ Grimm
Passing Game Coordinator- Mike Miller
QB’s Coach- Chris Miller
WR’s Coach- John McNulty
RB’s Coach- Curtis Modkins
Special Teams- Kevin Spencer
Offensive Quality Control- Chad Grimm
Strength and Conditioning- John Lott
Defensive Coordinator- Bill Davis
Defensive Line Coach- Ron Aiken
DB’s Coach- Teryl Austin
LB’s Coach- Matt Raich
Defensive Quality Control- Ryan Slowik
The Cardinals on Radio and TV
Cardinals’ games are broadcasted on the radio on KMVP ESPN Radio 860. Dave Pasch, Ron Wolfey, Paul Calvisi handle the radio broadcasts. Pre-season games are usually aired on KNXV Channel 15 the local Phoenix ABC affiliate. Cardinals’ games are also broadcasted regionally on Fox.
Modern History of the Cardinals
The modern day history of the Cardinals is largely defined by the emergence of the AFL. In 1959 Lamar Hunt and other tried to acquire a controlling interest in the then Chicago Cardinals. When these man all failed to do so, and were rebuffed for expansion NFL team they formed the AFL.
The Cardinals were moved out of Chicago, were they were clearly the other NFL team, to St. Louis to steal that market away from the AFL. After almost thirty years in St. Louis they moved again to Phoenix after they could not get a football only stadium built for them.
Arizona Cardinals on the web
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