The Diamondbacks and Maricopa County have reached a preliminary agreement allowing the team to immediately begin searching for construction sites on a new stadium, reports Rebekah L. Sanders of the Arizona Republic. The agreement comes under the condition that the D-backs drop a preexisting $187MM lawsuit against the county that was brought forth in early 2017 after club ownership alleged that the County had neglected to abide by contractually agreed upon maintenance and repair obligations.
Per Sanders, the new agreement would allow the D-backs to leave Chase Field in 2022, five years before the end of the initial 30-year lease, if the proposed construction site is in Maricopa County. Leaving Arizona of their own accord would require the organization to pay $5-25MM worth of penalty fees, though the agreement allows the D-backs to leave the state free of penalty if relocation is mandated by Major League Baseball. County chairman Steve Chucri tells Sanders that the County would likely bring forth a new lawsuit against MLB in that scenario, though he also emphasizes that such a scenario is “incredibly unlikely.”
You’ll want to read Sanders’ report in full for comprehensive details of the new arrangement, though generally speaking the preliminary deal absolves the County from its obligations to pay for repairs and allows the municipality to retain ownership of the land in downtown Phoenix. In exchange, the D-backs can spend their own resources on maintenance and seek reimbursement for a portion of their investment while simultaneously exploring new construction sites. The team would also inherit the ability to book entertainment events at Chase Field, with revenue being allocated to repairs.
At the time the initial suit was brought forth, D-backs managing partner Ken Kendrick called the situation “extremely unfortunate” and alleged that the County had “forced” the club to take legal action with its failure to meet contractual obligations. County official Clint Hickman wholly dismissed the notion and called the Diamondbacks’ allegations “outrageous,” citing millions of dollars of offseason investment in structural reinforcement and accusing D-backs ownership of “just [wanting] a new stadium now.”
Kendrick struck a different tone in a statement issued to the Republic, calling the agreement the “best opportunity” for the club “to remain in Arizona for the long term” — a goal he dubbed the team’s “primary focus.” Unsurprisingly, local government officials offered mixed reviews to Sanders, with some expressing trepidation over the manner in which the agreement was “fast-tracked” and others striking a more optimistic tone about keeping the D-backs in Maricopa County well beyond the end of their previous agreement, in 2027.
Whether the agreement leads to the selection of a site and, ultimately, the construction of a new facility for the D-backs remains to be seen, though securing the rights to a new facility would be the latest boon for an organization that is increasingly poised to bolster its payroll due to additional revenue streams. The Diamondbacks are in their third year of a reported $1.5 billion television contract and have upped their spending accordingly, heading into the 2018 season with a franchise-record $131MM payroll that shattered the previous high-water mark by more than $19MM. In fact, prior to the 2018 season, the Diamondbacks had only twice had an Opening Day payroll in excess of $100MM.
The potential advent of massive revenue boosts for the Diamondbacks will become ever important as the club determines how to proceed with face of the franchise Paul Goldschmidt, who’ll be eligible for free agency following the completion of the 2019 season.
So dumb. Ill admit, I’ve never been to Chase Field, but from all accounts it seems nice. And It has a roof so it’s not needed like one is in Arlington.
The only way this is good is if the DBacks pay for it.
Yea it’s just a waste
The problem is that stadium is too big. While it is a nice venue, the size of the structure & it’s layout, has led to a competitive financial disadvantage when compared to the many newer stadiums. If you watch any of their games on tv, even though the team averages a middle of the pack 26,000, the stadium looks empty.
The original owner, Calangelo, overestimated the team’s drawing potential. The early years & WS win, obscured the fact that at it’s heart, Phoenix is a transplant city. With that comes many preset allegiances with other franchises.. The team needed consistent winning in the years following the WS win to build up a fan base. And as we all know, outside of a few playoff runs, they have been mainly a terrible team.
So the plan is to build a smaller more intimate stadium with all the modern amenities. .
If filling it to capacity is an issue start by taking out some seats. Then transform that area into a Kids Zone, Family Fun Zone, open air restaurant, dog park, or some other family friendly venue within the park.
It doesn’t even have to be an over the top, high tech extravaganza. Old time carnival stuff is great for the young kids. It seems like a perfectly serviceable field that is in need of repairs and a transformation instead of building a new billion dollar ballpark.
Actually the DBacks need to have a roof. The roof isn’t just for keeping rain or snow out. It also allows the team to close the roof and maintain 74 degrees rather than having the players play in 115+ degree weather, not to mention the fans.
Obviously, some people have no idea how bad the heat & monsoon storms can be in the summer. I can’t imagine trying to watch a game in a 100+ heat while a dust storm blows through the stadium for 20+ minutes.
Yep, that will help attendance.
That’s my point. The Rangers need a new ballpark with a roof, and for that lone reason, I’m okay if at least a bit of it is publicly funded. The DBacks are already set in the desert since they have one. And maybe I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure I know whose going to end up with this bill if Phoenix gets a new stadium
The Diamondbacks were offering to pay the $225 million in neglected repairs and contractually agreed upon maintenance that Maricopa County had not done and the future repairs and upgrades the contract called for if the county would allow them to have other events at the ballpark during the year. Maricopa County declined to either pay the costs or to allow the Diamondbacks to have other events at the ballpark.
Now the Diamondbacks will pay the cost of some maintenance and will be allowed to host other events at the ballpark to pay for that maintenance AND they get to leave.
I have been to chase field great fans but the stadium is like a warehouse. If they want a retractable dome stadium look at Miller park this is a great venue and gives you a great baseball game experience.
I wish all 30 MLB teams owned their own stadium, paid off the mortgage fully, like the Giants. Not a Giants’ fan, but they are a model franchise, when it comes to how they handled their Stadium situation and I wish other teams followed Giants’ role
Even if it’s not realistic, how can you not respect that.
The Giants didn’t volunteer to pay for anything. The Giants battled for many years (over a decade?) forcing referendums in which their request for taxpayer money was rejected by the voters.
The Giants gave up when it became clear they would never get any taxpayer money. They threatened to move several times including to Tampa (!).
Yet they didn’t and paid for the stadium. Thank you again for useless information.
No such thing as useless information. Knowledge is power.. I learned something new today.
More downvotes, this time for mis-information. You are welcome and you have yourself a peachy day.
Why do they even need a new stadium? I am honestly wondering. Reviews aren’t bad, it has a retractable roof to block heat, and it even has a pool. I am genuinely curious.
Don’t know why. I’ve been there a handful of times and it’s a great place
Because the politicians in Arizona represent the billionaires, not the people.
Teachers are on strike in Arizona. Look at what they get paid. It’s laughable what their salaries are and here is where the money for teachers and schools goes, to build a new baseball ballpark that is totally unneeded.
If you read the report and you read some of the history on this you will find that there is already years and years of maintenance and repairs that have not been done to the stadium. By the end of the lease, it would have been $225 million worth of maintenance and repairs that Maricopa County had failed to provide. Its already well over $100 million.
I’ve been to Chase Field a handful of times and it’s a nice stadium. Baffled as to why the D-Backs want a new stadium after only 20 years.
agree….place is great. A facelift/remodel of certain things is all it needs.
Technically, the stadium will be 25 years old by the time they can opt out.
The stadium is way too big & spacious. They want to build a smaller more intimate stadium.
That is not at all what they are asking for. The Diamondbacks wanted the contractually agreed upon maintenance and repairs to be done. They had been ignored by Maricopa County to the tune of over $100 million to date. If the county had ponied up the money they agreed to, then the Diamondbacks would have stayed in Chase Field.
The stadium is way nicer in person then it shows on tv. Secondly, no matter how hard the city has tried to develop downtown over the last 12 years the area is virtually a ghost town whenever there isn’t a D-backs or Suns game. If they can find a way to build a stadium in old town Scottsdale it would great help attendance and free agent draw. Maybe take over the Giants spring training facility.
Yes let’s build it in Old Town Scottsdale where getting in and out would be a nightmare. It would be easy for the people of Scottsdale to get to the once a year they go. Hey it is all about Scottsdale or at least they think so.
While only 51% of the population lives east of the 17, 67% of season ticket holders live there. That would include Scottsdale.
Someplace off the Red Mountain and N Scottsdale Rd across the Salt River from ASU would be perfect.
I’m going to step into one here, but when forced to take sides between players, who want to be paid more, and owners, who will take money from any place they can get it from, including the taxpayers, my sympathies are more with the players. We convince ourselves that our hot dog and beer cost more because the 1st baseman got a big contract, but ignore the bond issue and the sales tax and the cutting of other local services when the owner gets drinks on the house (our house).
But Chase Field is very nice
So everything that I said came to pass. Holy moley! That almost never happens. Maricopa County is bankrupt and they can’t afford to fix the years of neglect on the ballpark, so they are going to let the Diamondbacks walk away from it.