Arizona

Arizona legislature passes contentious budget in face of $1.3 billion deficit

Published

2 years ago

June 16, 2024

Arizona legislature passes contentious budget in face of .3 billion deficit

Neither Democratic nor Republican lawmakers were very happy Saturday after spending more than 12 hours voting, passing the state’s budget just two weeks shy of the end of the fiscal year.

Arizona has a $1.3 billion budget deficit looming in the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years and legislators had to figure out a fix by the end of the 2024 fiscal year on June 30.

The 2025 budget, at $16.1 billion, includes significant reductions from 2024’s $17.2 billion. A number of Democratic members and Republicans voted no, saying that they did not have enough time to review the budget or decrying the cuts that were made.

“I feel like this year’s budget seems more focused on getting it done then doing it right,” Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, said when voting no on the budget Saturday. “I think many of us feel like this does not reflect the shared priorities of Arizonans. I believe this budget is a fiscal tragedy both in terms of process and policy.”

“Our budget is a moral document,” Rep. Mariana Sandoval, D-Yuma, said when explaining her no vote. “I’m sad to see that in the $16 billion budget, our communities are getting crumbs. Those are the wins my colleagues are talking about, crumbs.”

Most of the budget bills barely passed in each chamber.

“Arizonans can rest assured that their state has a balanced budget. I’m thankful for members of the legislature who came together, compromised, and passed this bipartisan agreement,” Gov. Katie Hobbs said in a statement after the passage of the budget. “But I know we still have more work to do.”

Hobbs has not signaled when she intends to sign the budget.

Among the issues Democratic legislators objected to is the inclusion of a plan to allocate $75 million of state opioid settlement funds to the Department of Corrections. That money, which the state got through a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies in the wake of the opioid crisis, has restrictions on how it should be used. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes has threatened to sue the governor and lawmakers if the proposal makes it into the final version of the budget.

Mayes believes that using the money to “backfill holes” in the Department of Corrections operating budget would put the $1.4 billion the state is set to receive in the settlement at risk of legal challenges. However, Mayes’ office has previously described transfers to the DOC as a qualified usage of the settlement money.

The AG’s Office did not respond to a request for comment Saturday night.

K-12 public education

The budget provides modest increases in funding to public district and charter schools, as well as to cover student transportation costs, but Beth Lewis, executive director of Save Our Schools Arizona, said it wasn’t enough to keep up with inflation.

SOS Arizona is a public education advocacy group focused on opposing the expansion of private school vouchers, known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts.

As part of their final day of session, lawmakers also passed a measure that lifts the “Aggregate Expenditure Limit” for Arizona schools for the next fiscal year. Education advocates had been asking the legislature to make that a permanent lift, yet once again lawmakers lifted the AEL temporarily.

The AEL, placed in the state constitution by voters in 1980, means that without a legislative waiver, schools would have been forced to make massive cuts to their budgets. Now that has been temporarily averted, public school advocates are turning their attention to a more lasting fix so the legislature does not have to scramble to issue a waiver every year.

The budget also includes an additional $29 million in one-time additional assistance to public schools.

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Empowerment Scholarship Accounts

Some Democratic members were pleased that the budget places new regulations on the ESA program, including requiring fingerprinting for staff who work unsupervised around children. Other Democrats argued that the new regulations didn’t go far enough. They said the fingerprinting requirement, for example, is not as stringent as that for public school teachers.

“While this bipartisan budget delivers reforms to the ESA program, they are not enough,” Hobbs said in her post-passage statement. “I stand committed to bringing much needed accountability and transparency to the unsustainable ESA program that significantly contributes to the state’s budget deficit.”

Many Republicans decried the new rules as government interference in private schools.

Arizona recently expanded universal Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to allow all K-12 students in the state to attend private school or to be educated at home using public money, even if that student’s parents were already paying for them to attend private school before a voucher was available.

Critics of the expanded program — which has gone from around 12,000 participants to more than 75,000 — have repeatedly called for it to be capped or nixed all together, calling it a subsidy for the wealthy at the expense of everyday Arizonans.

While proponents of the program, like Mesa Republican Rep. Barbara Parker, claim that it saves the state money, that isn’t the case. A recent report from the nonpartisan Grand Canyon Institute found that the expanded universal portion of the program cost Arizona $332 million in the 2024 fiscal year, a number expected to grow to $429 million next year.

In budget discussions on Thursday, Democratic critics of the program repeatedly pointed out that they could wipe out a big chunk of the state’s budget deficit by eliminating or scaling back the universal expansion.

“We could easily solve this deficit by reining that in,” said Democratic Sen. Anna Hernandez, of Phoenix, later calling cuts to other important programs, but not to ESAs, “fiscally irresponsible.”

Public education advocates argue that vouchers take money away from public schools, when Arizona public schools are some of the worst funded in the nation.

The new budget doesn’t eliminate or put a cap on the ESA program, but it would stop public school students from using ESA funding for educational purposes over summer break, for a modest savings of $2.5 million annually.

It also calls for annual audits of a random sample of ESA accounts to ensure parents comply with the rules of the program, but Democratic Sen. Priya Sundareshan said during a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting on Thursday that the new guardrails for ESAs were far from sufficient. She pointed out that a single student’s account could not be selected for review more than once in a five-year period.

Road construction projects

Lawmakers delayed many road construction projects set to begin in the next few years, causing consternation for municipal leaders who were counting on the highway and street improvements.

Katy Proctor, intergovernmental affairs director with the city of Maricopa, told lawmakers during a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting on Thursday that the city was extremely disappointed about the delay in funding for construction of an overpass at the intersection of State Road 347 and Riggs Road. More than 57,000 vehicles travel through that intersection daily, she said, and it’s ranked as the fourth-most dangerous intersection in the state highway system. Most accidents that happen there involve rear-end crashes and left turns, which she said would be eliminated by the project.

Also pushed back to 2028 is a $108 million project that was set to widen Interstate 10 between State Road 85 and Citrus Road. The budget also reduces funding to the Arizona Department of Transportation for pavement rehabilitation by $41 million.

Some projects did make it into the state’s budget.

Those projects include $10 million for a traffic interchange between Interstate 10 and Cortaro Road in Tucson; $8.2 million for work on a road between the Douglas port of entry and State Route 80; $35.5 million for an emergency evacuation bridge in Lake Havasu City; and $18 million for improvements to an intersection on Route 347 and Casa Blanca Road near Casa Grande.

Water policy

The budget eliminates the entire $333 million budget meant to be allocated in 2025 to the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona, a fund created in 2022 with broad bipartisan support to help shore up Arizona’s water future by bringing in water from out of state.

Arizona leaders, along with the heads of other southwestern states that are in the throes of a decades-long drought, are concerned about the area’s water future, but Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin, of Scottsdale, told the Arizona Mirror in December that he believed WIFA funding was a good place to cut.

Kolodin said that there are so many restrictions placed on the money that “there are no good projects to fund.”

Opioid settlement

One of the sticking points in the budget — especially for Democrats — was a plan to use $75 million in funds that the state received from a lawsuit against the makers of opioids who were found partially at fault for the opioid crisis.

Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes previously told the Mirror that this use of money was illegal and could “put Arizona’s entire $1.4 billion in opioid funds in legal jeopardy.”

The funds are meant to be used to combat the fentanyl crisis, not backfill the Department of Corrections’ operations budget, Mayes said during an interview this week with 12 News.

“That’s illegal. I will fight it,” Mayes said. “If I have to go to court to fight it, I will do that and we will win. And, by the way, I am not giving that money to them. It’s in my bank account at the Attorney General’s Office. It is not going anywhere.”

Mayes went on to say that if she had to, she would sue Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs to stop the state from using that money improperly.

Higher and adult education

Arizona’s colleges and universities will see significant cuts to their budgets.

Arizona State University will see $10.9 million in cuts; Northern Arizona University will lose around $4 million; and University of Arizona’s state funding will be cut by around $6.5 million.

The state’s community colleges will see a cut of around $54 million.

The budget would also eliminate programs, beginning in 2026, that were meant to help Arizona’s workers, including the Continuing High School and Workforce Training Program, Adult Workforce Diploma Program and the Community College Adult Education Workforce Development Program.

Infighting

Saturday was full of long breaks between voting as Republicans and Democratic members tried to round up the votes needed to pass the budget.

Even with some of the changes, members of both parties voiced their displeasure with the process and with the items included in the budget that were meant to get buy-in from both parties.

“This budget was a trainwreck. This process was a trainwreck. It has bastardized the way the legislative process is supposed to work and I vote hell no!” Kolodin said, after noting that rank and file Republicans were given a “thousand page” budget document only three days ago.

Democratic members voiced similar concerns Saturday.

“Yes, some of us were included in many discussions and some of us were not and I was able to see that,” Rep. Betty Villegas, D-Tucson, said, adding that the state’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit program lost funds in this year’s budget. “So it really isn’t a win.”

Others focused on the “wins” they did get in the budget and emphasized that lawmakers are working in a divided government.

“There are plenty of things I am unhappy with in it, there are several things I am happy about and deserve recognition in this process,” Rep. Judy Schwiebert, D-Phoenix, said. The Phoenix Democrat touted $4 million for school lunches, $2 million to the Arts Commission, money for adult education programs, the AEL extension and a $15 million deposit to the state’s Housing Trust Fund as major wins.

That still did not stop a number of Democratic lawmakers from voting no along with some of their Republican colleagues.

Online, lawmakers began taking shots at each other and casting blame for what they saw as a bad budget.

The far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus took to X, formerly Twitter, to claim that the “swamp” and “establishment Republicans” were blaming them for the budget.

“The reality is that this is what happens when weak Republicans negotiate a budget in secret with Democrats,” the post said, adding that they brought their ideas to leadership, who “rejected the changes instantly without considering them, and then spent the rest of the day attacking, defaming and insulting members of the Freedom Caucus for not just blindly following orders.”

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Arizona

NAU launches first-of-its-kind engineering degree to fast-track Arizona’s future workforce – The NAU Review

Published

5 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

As Arizona’s semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries continue to grow at a rapid pace, Northern Arizona University’s Steve Sanghi College of Engineering is launching a new degree program designed to help meet the state’s workforce needs.

Beginning this fall, NAU will offer a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology, a flexible, workforce-focused degree pathway that prepares students for careers in microelectronics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing in as little as three years. The 90-credit bachelor’s degree creates a more accessible pathway into engineering careers through a hands-on, applied curriculum and a streamlined transfer model with Arizona community colleges.

The program follows a 45-45 completion structure, allowing students to complete 45 credits at a community college and 45 credits through NAU. Courses will be delivered through synchronous remote instruction at NAU’s North Valley campus in Phoenix and at Pima Community College in Tucson, increasing access for statewide students.

Addressing Arizona’s growing semiconductor workforce

Designed with workforce readiness in mind, the program emphasizes practical engineering application, systems implementation, testing, quality control, systems analysis, manufacturing, fabrication, process control and project management. Students will gain technical and problem-solving skills aligned with the needs of Arizona’s rapidly evolving manufacturing economy.

“This new bachelor’s degree empowers students to identify real-world engineering challenges and develop practical solutions,” said James Palmer, associate dean for academic affairs at the Steve Sanghi College of Engineering. “We are creating a more accessible pathway into engineering careers while preparing graduates to support Arizona’s growing microelectronics and semiconductor industry.”

Arizona has emerged as one of the nation’s fastest-growing semiconductor hubs, with more than $200 billion in semiconductor-related investments announced in the Greater Phoenix region since 2020, including expansions from Intel, TSMC and Amkor Technology. TSMC alone has committed up to $165 billion toward Arizona operations, including multiple fabrication plants and advanced packaging facilities expected to create thousands of technical and manufacturing jobs.

Industry demand continues to grow for professionals with applied engineering and advanced manufacturing skills in areas such as process engineering, manufacturing systems, equipment operations and yield enhancement. NAU’s new degree program was developed to help students quickly enter these high-demand career fields while supporting Arizona’s long-term economic growth and domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity.

The program also aligns with NAU’s strategic commitment to expanding access to affordable, student-centered educational opportunities that prepare graduates for meaningful careers and long-term success.

Students interested in learning more about the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology program should contact SCE@nau.edu.

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GOP candidates pitch themselves the person to beat Arizona’s Democratic governor

Published

16 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

GOP candidates pitch themselves the person to beat Arizona’s Democratic governor

PHOENIX (AP) — The two Republican congressmen running for Arizona governor pitched themselves at a debate Wednesday as the only candidate with broad enough voter appeal to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs amid the state’s affordability struggles.

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who is the GOP primary’s frontrunner and has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, portrayed himself as being able to cross party lines and having the right experience to be the state’s chief executive.

“There’s not a doubt in my mind, if you look at the polling data that you’re going to find, I am the most competitive with Katie Hobbs of anybody on this stage in any Republican in the state,” Biggs said.

U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who has survived three tough Democratic challenges in recent years, believes his focus on government finances and his drive to bring new business to the state make him the singular Republican candidate.

“These are wonderful people, but they’ve never actually been in the great battle,” Schweikert said of Biggs and two other Republican opponents.

Businessman Scott Neely, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022, said after the debate that if Biggs wins the primary, Republicans will lose the election.

The winner of the July 21 primary will face Hobbs, who’s running unopposed in the primary.

Biggs has served five terms in the U.S. House, representing a heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs and serving at one time as chairman of the ultra-right U.S. House Freedom Caucus.

Before that, Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature from 2003 through 2016, including four years as president of the state Senate. He battled with then-Republican Gov. Jan Brewer on a Medicaid expansion in 2013 and pushed school choice measures and bills targeting abortion providers.

Biggs is one of Trump’s top defenders in Congress and supported Trump’s false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

Schweikert, a budget hawk known for railing against government debt, has represented an affluent district that includes parts of northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale for eight terms. He served in the Arizona House in the 1990s and as Maricopa County’s treasurer in the 2000s.

Schweikert has focused his congressional career on sounding the alarm about the federal budget deficit and the ballooning U.S. debt, often in late-night speeches to a nearly empty House chamber and bleary-eyed C-SPAN viewers. Schweikert has praised Trump’s 2017 tax cuts but has called for more spending cuts to reduce federal borrowing.

His reputation was tarnished by ethics scandals. In 2022, he received a $125,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission for misappropriating campaign funds. Two years prior, he agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and accept 11 campaign finance violations after an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics. In his last three general campaigns for Congress, Schweikert staved off challenges from Democrats. Biggs voiced support for Arizona’s recent passage of a three-year moratorium on tax incentives for new data centers – a move Hobbs also has touted. “They shouldn’t be given a break,” Biggs said, noting the large amounts of power and water that data centers use.

Schweikert bemoaned Arizona’s unfavorable affordability rankings as “pretty miserable,” but said consumer prices don’t come down magically. He vowed to aggressively recruit businesses to Arizona and push for wage growth.

Both congressmen were asked about the expired healthcare subsidies for those getting coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

“We’re going to have to deal with the reality of subsidization of everything in the economy is not going to work,” Schweikert said.

Biggs said he introduced legislation in Congress to bring down healthcare costs and also voiced support for Trump’s proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit.

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Arizona

Social sport leagues for adults heating up in Arizona

Published

1 day ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

Social sport leagues for adults heating up in Arizona

by Shelby Evans, Cronkite News
June 17, 2026

SCOTTSDALE – “Seven.”

“Eight.”

“One.”

“Two.”

Forty adults gather in a circle around a sand volleyball court at Indian School Park. They count off to divide into eight teams for the volleyball matches.

The camaraderie of recess sports persists among the group. Play for the joy of playing.

“It is a stressful time to be an adult, right?” said Phoenix Fray city commissioner Hilary Neste. “So we want to encourage people to play. That is our mission.”

Adult social leagues have grown in number and size as more adults turn to them as a way to find community and stay active.

According to a 2025 report from Morning Consult, 58% of adults work out or play sports at least once a week.

The Valley has options for those majority of adults, Municipalities, like the City of Phoenix, offer community leagues, Arizona Sports League offers divisions of play for eight sports in locations spread across the metropolitan area and OutLoud Sports offers LGBTQ+ inclusive year-round options.

Fray Phoenix is a private adult social sport league provider. As dusk brings relief to the Arizona summer air, players begin gathering at the four sand volleyball courts every Sunday night at 7 p.m.

Pete Sanchez, a 55-year-old dad of three, participates in three Fray Leagues a week.

“Sundays is sand volleyball,” Sanchez said. “Then Mondays is flag football, Tuesdays is adult kickball.

“I enjoy the competition. I make a lot of friends, and friends where we actually hang out and go out.”

Each league has a pay-for-play model. Six weeks of indoor volleyball starting in August at a social or athletic level costs non-members between $75-$85.

Privately owned social sports leagues are growing in size across the country. Organizing the leagues became such a large undertaking that the Sport & Social Industry Association has been connecting member organizations with resources since 2010.

Chris Giebner, a founding member of SSIA, has owned and operated Tampa Bay Club Sport since 2002.

“It’s not an industry for the faint of heart,” Giebner said. “The raw truth of it is we’re in a business where half your customers lose every night.”

He first participated in a social league when he moved to Florida from Cincinnati in 1996.

“I Joined a start up, fledgling soccer league as a free agent,” Giebner said, “then on that first day, I ended up meeting who became my wife.”

It is a story that Giebner has seen repeated in the 30 years since.

“We have tracked, probably hundreds of marriages,” Giebner said. “I’ve probably been to dozens of weddings of people I met through Club Sport. We’ve seen dozens of on-field marriage proposals.”

Romances put the social in social sports in Phoenix as well. Jordyn Graham joined a Fray volleyball league when she moved to Phoenix from Texas. Michael Donovan moved to the area from New Hampshire.

“I would just show up at my game and leave,” Graham said. “He was like ‘hey, you should start coming to free play.’ And I was like ‘hmmm, maybe’ and then he was like ‘well here’s my number. I’ll text you.’”

Since then, the couple has dated and are now engaged.

“With us being together, it brought me out more,” Graham said. “Meet more people, made new friends and other connections.”

Tampa Bay Sports Club Sport has expanded into six cities in Florida and employs 15 full-time people with 80 part-time employees. They have about 80,000 players a year across their leagues, Giebner said He associates the growth to Gen Zs and Millennials moving away from a drinking culture.

“Those generations aren’t drinking as much as Gen X, and my generation,” Giebner said. “More of those generations are looking for something active to do, and I think our industry and our product is right up that alley.”

Fray United is headquartered in Washington D.C. and has leagues based out of Jacksonville, Florida, and Phoenix. Neste is the only full-time employee in Arizona and operates as the city commissioner. Sports options are available across the Valley spanning from Avondale, Glendale, Scottsdale and Gilbert.

“We always have new players joining us, which is so great,” Neste said. “You meet people that you wouldn’t meet in other areas, like going out to a bar.”

Phoenix Fray offers two divisions on Sunday nights: a social and an athletic. Athletic includes a higher level of play for a bit more competition.

“We want to be in the Athletic league,” Sanchez said. “Our team is pretty good but we just can’t seem to win when it comes to the playoffs.

“Everybody’s always asking when are you guys going to athletic and I’m like “no, we need to win social before we deserve to move up.’”

The sport still prioritizes socialization and Neste highlighted the access social leagues offer to players who are new to the sport.

“The way youth sports is going is everyone is specializing,” Neste said. “I think more adults are going to want to try new things because they never got to try it when they were children.”

At Indian School Park, the athletic and social leagues compete for the first two scheduled hours. By 9 p.m., the teams gather in a circle and count off into new teams that combine the levels of play.

“We stay after and we mix the teams up,” Neste said. “It’s a lot harder to yell at someone during the game if you know them on a personal level, right? So, we encourage them to interact with each other instead of just their own team.”

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Social sport leagues heating up in Arizona as adults look to connect <p>Shelby Evans, Cronkite News<br /> June 17, 2026 <p>SCOTTSDALE – “Seven.”<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>“Eight.” <p>“One.” <p>“Two.” <p>Forty adults gather in a circle around a sand volleyball court at Indian School Park. They count off to divide into eight teams for the volleyball matches. <p>The camaraderie of recess sports persists among the group. Play for the joy of playing. <div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>“It is a stressful time to be an adult, right?” said Phoenix Fray city commissioner Hilary Neste. “So we want to encourage people to play. That is our mission.” <p>Adult social leagues have grown in number and size as more adults turn to them as a way to find community and stay active. <p>According to a 2025 report from Morning Consult, 58% of adults work out or play sports at least once a week. <p>The Valley has options for those majority of adults, Municipalities, like the City of Phoenix, offer community leagues, Arizona Sports League offers divisions of play for eight sports in locations spread across the metropolitan area and OutLoud Sports offers LGBTQ+ inclusive year-round options. <p>Fray Phoenix is a private adult social sport league provider. As dusk brings relief to the Arizona summer air, players begin gathering at the four sand volleyball courts every Sunday night at 7 p.m.<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>Pete Sanchez, a 55-year-old dad of three, participates in three Fray Leagues a week. <p>“Sundays is sand volleyball,” Sanchez said. “Then Mondays is flag football, Tuesdays is adult kickball. <p>“I enjoy the competition. I make a lot of friends, and friends where we actually hang out and go out.” <p>Each league has a pay-for-play model. Six weeks of indoor volleyball starting in August at a social or athletic level costs non-members between $75-$85. <p>Privately owned social sports leagues are growing in size across the country. Organizing the leagues became such a large undertaking that the Sport & Social Industry Association has been connecting member organizations with resources since 2010. <div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>Chris Giebner, a founding member of SSIA, has owned and operated Tampa Bay Club Sport since 2002. <p>“It’s not an industry for the faint of heart,” Giebner said. “The raw truth of it is we’re in a business where half your customers lose every night.” <p>He first participated in a social league when he moved to Florida from Cincinnati in 1996. <p>“I Joined a start up, fledgling soccer league as a free agent,” Giebner said, “then on that first day, I ended up meeting who became my wife.” <p>It is a story that Giebner has seen repeated in the 30 years since. <div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>“We have tracked, probably hundreds of marriages,” Giebner said. “I’ve probably been to dozens of weddings of people I met through Club Sport. We’ve seen dozens of on-field marriage proposals.” <p>Romances put the social in social sports in Phoenix as well. Jordyn Graham joined a Fray volleyball league when she moved to Phoenix from Texas. Michael Donovan moved to the area from New Hampshire. <p>“I would just show up at my game and leave,” Graham said. “He was like ‘hey, you should start coming to free play.’ And I was like ‘hmmm, maybe’ and then he was like ‘well here’s my number. I’ll text you.’” <p>Since then, the couple has dated and are now engaged. <p>“With us being together, it brought me out more,” Graham said. “Meet more people, made new friends and other connections.” <div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>Tampa Bay Sports Club Sport has expanded into six cities in Florida and employs 15 full-time people with 80 part-time employees. They have about 80,000 players a year across their leagues, Giebner said He associates the growth to Gen Zs and Millennials moving away from a drinking culture. <p>“Those generations aren’t drinking as much as Gen X, and my generation,” Giebner said. “More of those generations are looking for something active to do, and I think our industry and our product is right up that alley.” <p>Fray United is headquartered in Washington D.C. and has leagues based out of Jacksonville, Florida, and Phoenix. Neste is the only full-time employee in Arizona and operates as the city commissioner. Sports options are available across the Valley spanning from Avondale, Glendale, Scottsdale and Gilbert. <p>“We always have new players joining us, which is so great,” Neste said. “You meet people that you wouldn’t meet in other areas, like going out to a bar.” <p>Phoenix Fray offers two divisions on Sunday nights: a social and an athletic. Athletic includes a higher level of play for a bit more competition. <div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>“We want to be in the Athletic league,” Sanchez said. “Our team is pretty good but we just can’t seem to win when it comes to the playoffs. <p>“Everybody’s always asking when are you guys going to athletic and I’m like “no, we need to win social before we deserve to move up.’” <p>The sport still prioritizes socialization and Neste highlighted the access social leagues offer to players who are new to the sport. <p>“The way youth sports is going is everyone is specializing,” Neste said. “I think more adults are going to want to try new things because they never got to try it when they were children.” <p>At Indian School Park, the athletic and social leagues compete for the first two scheduled hours. By 9 p.m., the teams gather in a circle and count off into new teams that combine the levels of play.<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap"><span class="mvp-ad-label">Advertisement</span><div class="mvp-post-ad"> </div></div> <p>“We stay after and we mix the teams up,” Neste said. “It’s a lot harder to yell at someone during the game if you know them on a personal level, right? So, we encourage them to interact with each other instead of just their own team.” <p>This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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