The NCAA Men’s Final Four that came to Arizona in April helped the state’s economic development executives woo dozens of business leaders, resulting in at least one major investment announcement in Mesa.
President and CEO Sandra Watson said dozens of executives attended the Arizona Commerce Authority’s CEO forum, an economic development tool used by the organization under both Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to woo business leaders from around the world in conjunction with major events like the Super Bowl, Waste Management Phoenix Open and Final Four.
“Major events like the Final Four offer an unparalleled platform for us to market Arizona as a premier business environment,” Watson said. “With the Final Four as a backdrop, we were able to attract industry leaders from around the country to the state.”
Supporters like Watson contend the CEO forum program is a vital tool and its cost – which can reach millions of dollars per event – is more than offset by the economic development it brings to the state.
But the program has been under the microscope since January, when Attorney General Kris Mayes concluded that the use of public funds to wine and dine business executives violated the state Constitution’s Gift Clause, which prohibits the state from giving public dollars to private organizations if there isn’t a proportional benefit to the public.
That resulted in a commitment by the Commerce Authority to use mostly private funds to pay for forum-related expenses like event tickets, hotels and gifts for attendees. The ACA said it planned to spend about $123,000 earlier this year for its forum at the Phoenix Open golf tournament, with $42,000 coming from taxpayer dollars to pay for expenses related to informational sessions, transportation and marketing materials.
Mayes said the ACA planned to employ a similar funding model for the Final Four in April.
Lawmakers also passed multiple reforms to the ACA over the summer, including requiring the agency to adopt rules prohibiting the use of state money to pay for hotels, event tickets and alcohol for business executives.
Hobbs, who signed those reforms into law, said she is satisfied with the ACA’s changes.
“I’m happy with the reforms,” Hobbs said. “I think that there’s a clear demonstration of their impact in terms of bringing business to Arizona, and a direct correction to the economic impact we see from these kind of major events.”
And it appears the shift to mostly private funding hasn’t affected the program’s effectiveness.
“Of those companies [that attended], we’ve added 15 projects and counting to our pipeline,” Watson said of the forum held in April.
That includes KoMiCo, a South Korean company that plans to build a $50 million semiconductor cleaning facility in Mesa, Watson said.
Hobbs said that type of investment proves that at least some public investment in the CEO program is warranted.
“Because it benefits Arizonans,” she said. “We are seeing tremendous investment in our state.”
