Arizona’s right-to-refuse service bill, opposed by Super Bowl Host Committee, vetoed
The threat of losing next year's Super Bowl wasn't the only reason Arizona's controversial Senate Bill 1062 bill was vetoed, but it probably played at least a small part.
Gov. Jan Brewer announced she vetoed SB 1062, which would have protected any Arizona businesses that refused service to gays and others on religious grounds. The NFL was going to be stuck in an uncomfortable situation if the bill was passed, as the league is preaching tolerance especially with Michael Sam poised to become its first openly gay player. Had the league pulled the plug on University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale hosting Super Bowl XLIX, it would have had less than a year to plan the league's biggest event at another venue. The league moved the 1993 from Arizona to the Rose Bowl in Southern California after voters in Arizona refused to honor Martin Luther King's birthday as a holiday in a 1990 vote, so the threat probably didn't seem empty to Brewer.
The Arizona Republic reported that Brewer announced the bill "threatened the state’s recovering economy by driving away high-profile events such as next year’s Super Bowl and corporations looking to relocate to Arizona." The Super Bowl Host Committee was one of many groups that voiced its opposition to the bill to Brewer.
Arizona needs the revenue the enormous event brings to the area. The NFL didn't want to be forced to move the Super Bowl with relatively short notice. Now that the bill has been vetoed, it appears that it won't be an issue.
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