Tensions seem to be rising between the Diamondbacks and local officials as the sides negotiate a lease extension for the club at Chase Field in Phoenix before the current lease runs out in 2027. Back in February, team ownership appeared to be frustrated with the lack of progress in negotiations, and things appeared to escalate recently when club president and CEO Derrick Hall criticized a recent proposal from the county during a local radio interview, as discussed by AZFamily’s David Baker.
During the interview, Hall described the offer from the county as “ridiculous,” adding that the proposed lease extension would expect the team to pay upwards of $150MM for stadium upgrades without public funding. Said proposal from the county would come with a 50-year term and keep the Diamondbacks in Arizona until at least 2034, as the club would have the right to terminate the lease with three years’ notice starting in 2032.
Sasha Hupka of the Arizona Republic notes that a major sticking point in the negotiations is the fact that the D-Backs are seeking funding to renovate the ballpark and construct an entertainment district similar to the one surrounding Atlanta’s Truist Park. Hupka notes that the club and Maricopa County (which owns Chase Field) are currently “tens of millions of dollars apart” in negotiations over how much the team should invest in leasing and developing land around the ballpark for said entertainment district, including a proposed investment of $200MM if the team is allowed to develop mixed-use property on the Chase Field site. Hall criticized that proposal during the interview as well, noting that the deal would hamper the team’s development goals around the ballpark.
“They say they won’t allow us to even talk about that opportunity and ‘unlock’ that opportunity and possibility until we’ve put nearly $200 million into the ballpark,” Hall said of the team’s desire to build restaurants, shops, and hotels surrounding Chase Field. “Again, they’re not even putting a penny.”
The lack of public funding for stadium renovations in the county’s proposal also appears to be a major point of contention. The current lease stipulates that the team controls maintenance of the ballpark, and Hupka notes that both sides are in agreement on that continuing in a hypothetical lease agreement. While the club controls that maintenance, however, the club appears to want public funding for that maintenance that goes beyond the agreement from 2018 that gave the club control over maintenance at Chase Field. Baker notes that same deal funnels $2MM of the $2.25MM annual sum that the D-Backs pay to the county in rent and fees into an account reserved for covering stadium maintenance costs.
Regardless of whose responsibility it is to pay for maintenance, all sides agree that the ballpark has seen better days since it was built in 1998. Issues with the stadium’s retractable roof, which cannot be operated while fans are inside the ballpark, and a lack of air conditioning are at the forefront of problems with Chase Field that are in obvious need of repair, but Hupka notes that the team has previously indicated they aren’t willing to invest in upgrading the facility without a lease extension in place. Per Hupka, the club has put just $14.5MM toward stadium repairs since the 2018 agreement putting them in control of maintenance was put into place, a far cry from the more than $46MM Maricopa County invested in repairs from 2005 to 2017.
As part of a lease extension deal, the Diamondbacks are hoping to secure a tax recollection deal that would funnel tax revenue from the D-Backs’ operations (including state taxes on the salaries of players and staff) towards stadium maintenance. As Hupka notes, Spring Training’s Cactus League is already among the beneficiaries of the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, which is primarily fueled by a tax recollection deal with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and also funds the Cardinals’ stadium.
That sort of tax recollection deal would require approval from Arizona’s state government, separate from the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors that Diamondbacks have been sparring with to this point. With a major election coming up in November, officials both from the county and the D-Backs previously indicated that they hoped to hammer out a deal before the end of the year in order to avoid the possibility of changes in county or state leadership causing a setback in the negotiations. That no longer seems feasible, however, as recent comments from the team describing the current state of Chase Field as “shameful” prompted a letter from Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers.
“We find the recent remarks from the team that the stadium’s condition is ’shameful’ confusing and troubling,” Sellers wrote. “Reports of falling concrete and excessive heat are an indication that the party responsible for the structure may not be taking the steps necessary to maintain a safe and friendly environment.”
Given the friction between the current board and D-Backs officials, the club may at this point prefer to wait out the current administration and hope for a more favorable negotiating environment in January, when Hupka notes that three of the board’s five current members are set to depart the board after either declining to run for re-election or, in the case of Sellers, losing a primary election. With that being said, holding out for a potentially more favorable group of county officials to negotiate with runs the risk of the state government’s makeup changing during the upcoming elections, leaving the club with a less favorable climate in which they’ll be pushing their tax recollection plans.
ChuckyNJ
Major League Baseball club wants Government-Funded Sportsball Palace while the state of Arizona is scrounging for water under drought conditions.
Want the upgrades to your ballpark? Fund them with your own dollars!
yeasties
The Coyotes showed the way how that the region operates-ownership should just move the Diamondbacks to Salt Lake City now and spare themselves the heartache of trying to make it work there.
VegasSDfan
I am all for the Dbacks moving out of Arizona.
Blue Baron
What difference would that make for you?
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Why would the dbacks move out of Arizona? This isn’t the coyotes situation, even if it was mlb teams are tenfold more important than nhl teams
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
Just move to Reno
Mikenmn
Tragic when a team doesn’t get enough free taxpayer money that could have been used to pay for cops, firemen, sanitation, libraries, schools, roads, water, etc, An absolute outrage.
JoeBrady
The county owns the stadium and is looking to lease it out. That often requires improvements out here in the real world.
aragon
Move to Oakland!
ChicagoCool
Oakland D’s !
cyberjer99
Just go into debt, fix the stadium, give us land that you will develop to make profits for us, you know a partnership. Wait, what, you want the team to put money in? Ridiculous
HalosHeavenJJ
Who needs schools, roads, and police?
A rich guy needs more money.
Badfinger
These owners and executives are tone deaf.
Acoss1331
Diamondbacks could do what we normal people are told all the time: borrow money from friends and family or get a loan from a bank.
gbs42
“They’re not even putting a penny.”
Rephrased: “We’re not getting corporate welfare! Boo hoo hoo!”
And if the ballpark conditions are “shameful,” the party responsible for repairs should pay for them, and that’s the Diamondbacks.
SaltLakeBrave
Amen!
jorge78
I did a double take on that lol. The person responsible for repairs screaming how SHAMEFUL the condition of the park is!
WUT???
JoeBrady
The person responsible for repairs screaming how SHAMEFUL
============================
All that matters is who is responsible for the payments.
Blue Baron
I was there three weeks ago and the AC seemed to be working nicely.
ChicagoCool
That’s because it was only 110° outside, here in Phoenix !
BasedBall
Billionaires crying about taxpayers not building them hotels and restaurants. The lack of awareness from these guys is incredible.Then they’re trying to recollect the taxes they’ve already paid too? What benefit does the city get? The stadium needs repairs because they’re running it into the ground on purpose not even spending 1/3 of what the city put in when inflation was less. Taxpayers being strong armed by huge corporations is nothing new though
RunDMC
Truist Park (specifically, The Battery surrounding ent district) was named in TB’s new park, and now, again, ARZ’s reno plans. Interesting that it’s becoming teams’ new MO. 365-day revenue.
HalosHeavenJJ
It’s what Arte is trying to accomplish here.
It makes perfect sense. But should be funded by the billionaires not the tax payers.
Note: went to Truist a few weeks ago and it is incredible.
jorge78
And the local county is $60 million yearly in the hole because of Truist.
Local schools need to tighten their belts…..
HalosHeavenJJ
That sucks.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
I really don’t like seeing stadiums demolished, but chase field is falling apart and looks outdated, the only way to make it good again would be to basically tear everything up inside but that would cost more than making a new stadium
A new ballpark with either a working retractable roof or dome would be better
Blue Baron
Not sure why they need a roof that can open in that heat.
prov356
“The current lease stipulates that the team controls maintenance of the ballpark…”
I have nothing against rich people as many on here do. Being successful is not bad, it’s good. I have never worked for a poor person and neither as anyone on here who spews the “millionaires and billionaires” mantra.
However, if the lease says the ball club is responsible for maintenance of the park, then the ball club should pay for the maintenance of the park.
HalosHeavenJJ
I love the fact the rich guy I work for avoids taxes by paying me fairly.
But if he expected tax payers to buy him things to make him even richer, I’d oppose it.
JoeBrady
But if he expected tax payers to buy him things to make him even richer, I’d oppose it.
==============================
That’s often just a negotiation to obtain business. If you want JPM to relocate from Manhattan to Newark, you have to pay them. Both sides have interests to protect. When Ridge Hill was being developed in Yonkers, they were told that Yonkers needed a new animal shelter. There was a building maybe 30 years ago on 59th St in Manhattan. They wanted a height variance and the city wanted a new subway station. Both sides got what they wanted.
It’ll be the same thing here. I’m 100% sure that the various AZ governments want jobs and tax revenue, just as the DBacks want revenue.
It’s just a matter of reaching a fair deal.
HalosHeavenJJ
Agreed. I’d love so see a spreadsheet showing the tax revenues from the existing stadium and the expected tax revenues from a renovated stadium and adjacent development.
If there’s a decent ROI for the taxpayers, cool. But in general there isn’t on these type of projects.
JoeBrady
The issue for me is that I do not trust the numbers from either side. I have no dog in this race, but my NYC side, I am extremely happy that the city/state chipped in to keep the NYY here. And there is no way that the government isn’t making money on this.
Just take the ticket and merchandising revenue and multiply by .08875. And that’s without the revenue from parking, business taxes, etc.
gbs42
Making money is fine. Sports team owners doing so at the expense of much more significant concerns is what bothers me.
utah cornelius
Those rich people make the money to “give” you a job get it from an economy based on a very, very large foundation of cheap labor. They stiff creditors, they steal from their employees, they steal from their customers, they steal from their communities, they steal from taxpayers. I’m not saying they don’t “earn” any of their money, I’m saying they don’t earn nearly what they wind up taking out.
prov356
utah – you have a twisted mindset.
Blue Baron
utah cornelius: Not all wealthy people steal. In fact, most people with or without wealth don’t steal. That’s called ethics and knowing right from wrong.
Try to avoid making unfair sweeping generalizations about people you don’t know. It just makes you seem angry, ignorant, and foolish.
JoeBrady
Utah, that might be one of the stupidest posts I have ever read. Here is your business primer of the day:
1-Businesses don’t cheat customers because they want to keep the customer.
2-Businesses don’t steal from their employees. That would be illegal and they’d go to jail, in addition to losing its best employees.
3-Just from my own personal experience, Corporate America has treated me well. In fact, the more money they have, the better they treat me. When companies make billions, their only concern is that an accurate FS appears on the desk in time for the earnings call. If Joey gets an extra $10k +/-, they don’t give a rat’s a$$.
JoeBrady
prov356
However, if the lease says the ball club is responsible for maintenance of the park, then the ball club should pay for the maintenance of the park.
===========================
That’s two different concepts. One of my employers received a build-out allowance for the space they were leasing. We were responsible for upgrading the property, but the owner was responsible for paying the allowance.
desertdawg
Really there is two sides to this story, one that sounds like that Maricopa County wants nothing really to do with AZ Diamond back management. The other side is that AZ Management has the clause in their lease agreement where they take care of maintenance on the structure, and they want to expand the area around the ballpark. They are at an impasse, clock is ticking because 2027 will be here in less time as we know, the D’Backs are getting calls about other cities who will bend over backwards to get them. I know Salt Lake City wants a ML team in the worse way. That city has a lot of money behind it. That city looks for teams that other cities don’t want to deal with anymore, swoop in and you get the surprise announcement that the D’Backs will not be renewing their lease in AZ and getting a deal done in Salt Lake starting in 2028. Stay Tune this could get really interesting when both sides despise each other, SLC is just licking their chops for the phone call.
SFBay314
Billionaires gonna billionaire.
Don’t blame them for trying but this public funding game is going away quickly. SF privately funded the best stadium in baseball
6820_USN
They didn’t fund PETCO…
SFBay314
Cool you think SD is #1 it can be. Still doesn’t change billionaires do not free money from tax payers.
joblo
But in fact the taxpayer DID fund the best stadium in baseball – PNC Park.
SFBay314
PNC isn’t the best stadium in Pennsylvania
lowtalker1
If I remember correctly maracopa county hasn’t actually paid their share in maintenance cost in like 10 years prior to 2018.
Maracopa also rejected them moving to Scottsdale
Maracopa also was prepared to fight them when they were looking into Henderson, Nevada prior to the As sliding in…
BaseballisLife
So the Diamondbacks want to
Back out on the maintenance requirements in the current lease. They owe $120-200 million in required maintenence today.
Get far below market rate leases on property around the ballpark so they can redevelop it instead of Maricopa Country selling that to benefit taxpayers.
Have taxpayers pay for upgrades to the ballpark.
Get a tax recollection effort that will take more money out of taxpayer pockets to pay for deferred maintenance that the Diamondbacks were supposed to already be doing.
Good luck with that.
JoeBrady
The county should just ask them to leave. Just like Oakland, I am sure they can replace them with another team will to build their own stadium.
Or not.
But the only thing that matters to me is those that would not use tax money for maintenance/improvements have to be okay with them leaving.
BaseballisLife
The Diamondbacks lease calls for the team to do maintenance. They have failed to do any of it for more than a decade.
Rsox
Ballpark maintenance should fall on the owners. Sell advertising to pay for the rest a la the Cubs
JoeBrady
Yup, that’s what the DBacks want. The county owns it, so they have to pay for maintenance & repairs (unless the existing contract says otherwise).
BaseballisLife
The existing contract says otherwise.
JoeBrady
Is there a place where I can get a synopsis of the contract? My understanding is that the county has to pay.
BaseballisLife
Arizona Republic has done multiple write ups on it and it’s mentioned in this article.
ctbronx7
Nashville is on line two, offering a free state service for the art stadium and an entertainment district surrounding it.
LLGiants64
Billionaires arguing over millions.
Not the real Sports Pope
The fact that teams have given “700 million” dollar contracts and an another potential “500 million + this offseason is all the reason these counties need to stick to their guns. Insanity that any taxpayer money should go to any professional team. The Angels should pay people to go to their games
Niekro floater
Dodgers will pitch in w/money for renovations … like expanding “Dodgers” pool area for celebrations n what not.
desertdawg
You know old Manfred will stick his nose in the mess, telling the D’Back to just hold off till 2026 and will move you to either Salt Lake City or Nashville. Manfred will tell Maricopa county to stick it, your lost for revenue tax dollars. Then AZ can go back to being a AAA team city in their 45,000 seat heat dome with no AC.
JoeBrady
That’s what this all boils down to. The county is can always say no, let the DBacks leave, and then likely have to tear down the stadium. The DBacks will have a new suitor the following morning.
Just imho, but there is no downside for the DBacks.
BaseballisLife
Maricopa county makes money hand over fist in Spring Training. If the Diamondbacks leave that won’t change. It will just hurt MLB moving out of what is the 6th largest city and 11th largest TV market.