Frequently Searched

City of Tempe Changes Sea Life Deal, But Goldwater Institute Says More Changes Might Need to be Made

November 7, 2014

The Goldwater Institute claims that a lawsuit it filed against the city of Tempe has forced changes in the deal between the city and a British developer to build an aquarium at the Arizona Mills Mall.

The folks at Goldwater felt the city was giving unfair incentives to Sea Life, a division of U.K.-based Merlin Entertainment Group, to build the aquarium in Tempe.

Frankly, any company willing to build anything at the crime-riddled Arizona Mills Mall should be given a medal of bravery, not tax breaks.

The problem with the incentives for Sea Life is that other businesses don’t get taxpayer money from the city when they set up shop, so why should a group of Brits profit on the taxpayers’ dime. 

“The last thing taxpayers need in this economy is to subsidize a massive European business conglomerate,” says Goldwater attorney Carrie Ann Sitren. “We wish the City had done things right in the first place. But if it takes a lawsuit to get the City to do the right thing, that’s what we’re here to do.”

The city has since changed the terms of the deal with Sea Life to require the aquarium to offer discounts to Tempe residents and has hired a consultant to see if the deal can go through without the tax-breaks from the city.

Sitren says the Goldwater Institute is happy with the changes but that more information needs to be verified before she calls off the dogs.

While the aquarium is now forced to provide discounts — as opposed to just giving the developer the option to give discounts, which was the case in the original deal — Sitren wants to be able to put a dollar amount on those discounts to see if they equal the amount of money Sea Life will be saving with the tax incentives.

“We have some legal analysis left to do,” she says. “If the discount is $7, we want to know what that means. It’s still not clear what the value of the discounts will be.”

 

 

More on this issue

Donate Now

Help all Americans live freer, happier lives. Join the Goldwater Institute as we defend and strengthen freedom in all 50 states.

Donate Now

Since 1988, the Goldwater Institute has been in the liberty business — defending and promoting freedom, and achieving more than 400 victories in all 50 states. Donate today to help support our mission.

We Protect Your Rights

Our attorneys defend individual rights and protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Need Help? Submit a case.

Get Connected to Goldwater

Sign up for the latest news, event updates, and more.

Wait! Don’t close this yet!

We are grateful for your support of the Goldwater Institute’s efforts to advance and defend liberty throughout the United States. For over 36 years, we’ve been defending the rights of Americans to live their lives free from government interference.

And Goldwater is unique in that we direct our efforts to the 50 states where we introduce and advance innovative ideas that expand freedom. And we fight in courtrooms and capitals nationwide to defend individual liberty.

In 2024 alone, we scored over 50 policy and litigation victories defending liberty!

And that’s just the beginning.

Our plans for 2025 include:

  • Stopping pernicious DEI and other woke programs in America’s universities.
  • Ensuring that patients suffering from rare and terminal diseases have access to cutting-edge, lifesaving medical treatments, without having to first seek permission from the government.
  • Defending parental rights across the United States so that parents can send their kids to the school that best fits their needs, free from leftist indoctrination.
  • Eliminating government interference in the fundamental right of individuals to own property and use it as they see fit.
  • And much, much more

We seek to restore the presumption of liberty; that people are free to act without first asking permission from the government.

But we cannot do this without you. Will you join us as we fight to preserve and advance liberty throughout the country? As we seek new and innovative ways to defend freedom in all 50 states?

And there’s great news: Thanks to a generous Goldwater supporter, your donation today will be doubled!

So please, join us in fighting to advance liberty and score real wins for freedom from coast to coast!