By Corina Vanek | Phoenix Business Journal
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey made national headlines in July when he unleashed a Twitter storm publicly rescinding an incentive grant, likely worth about $1 million, for a proposed Nike Inc. manufacturing facility in Goodyear over the shoemaker’s decision to scuttle a shoe featuring the Betsy Ross flag.
Weeks later, Nike said it still planned to open the Goodyear factory, where it will manufacture the sole that goes into Nike Air shoes. The discretionary incentive from the Arizona Competes Fund, one of several state and city incentives the company was to get, was not reinstated.
While the effectiveness of incentives is the subject of differing opinions, economic development officials in Arizona said they are a tool that can be the difference between a firm choosing to do business in the state or going elsewhere.
