PHOENIX (AP) _ Ongoing legal challenges could create costly delays for the Arizona Cardinals’ proposed $355-million stadium in Glendale.

Ted Ferris, president of the state Tourism and Sports Authority, said construction must begin by year’s end for the 32-month project to be completed in time for the 2005 football season.

Timing also is critical because material prices and interest rates could rise, driving up construction and debt service costs. The authority and Glendale officials are urging the project’s developer to drop his court appeal challenging the stadium’s public funding.

If the high court accepts the case, the authority’s bond rating would remain clouded, preventing the sale of bonds needed to start construction, which cannot be marketed until a design-build agreement and construction budget are in place.

Ferris expects both to be ready by the end of the year. If they are not, a smaller series of bonds could be marketed to cover the first three to six months of work. Planners have met since August to iron out details of the retractable dome and how it will be positioned on the site.