SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Diamondbacks are one-third of the way toward their funding mechanism for what they say will be a $500 million to $1 billion refurbishment of Chase Field, where they have a lease through the 2027 season.
Last week the Arizona State House passed a bill, HB2704, that would capture some of the sales taxes spent by patrons at the ballpark and earmark it toward the improvements. Next up, the State Senate must also approve the bill, although that vote has yet to be scheduled.
If it passes the Senate, the bill then goes to the desk of Gov. Katie Hobbs, who has indicated she will probably sign it.
“I’m confident. I think it’s going to pass,” team president Derrick Hall said in a recent exclusive interview in his box at Salt River Fields, the team’s spring training facility. “We have a lot of support.”
While it sounds easy, the process is fraught with internecine politics between Phoenix, Maricopa County and the state. Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego is opposed, posting on X on Feb. 25 that the bill “takes $200 million from the City of Phoenix alone, which will have a real impact on our ability to pay for police and fire services.”
“The city doesn’t like to be told what to do by the state,” Hall said, noting that the governor and mayor represent the Democratic party in Arizona but are on opposite sides of this issue. “Same party. Rivals. But Hobbs has been really supportive.”
Hobbs has said the D-backs have her support, but only on a conditional basis.
“If they can reach an agreement that is acceptable to all the parties, then yes,” Hobbs said when asked if she supported the plan. “I want to keep the [D-backs] here in Arizona.”
HB2704 was introduced in January by state representative Jeff Weninger, and it passed the House by a 35-25 margin. The Senate has 30 members, so the D-backs will need a majority vote.
“The city, I think we can get them to neutral, which is all you want,” Hall said. “I think the county is getting to neutral, but not there yet. So far we’re good.”
The legislation ensures that enough money from the 8.6% sales tax will go to the county, state and city to at least partially pay for services such as public education, fire, police, first responders and public safety. The remainder would go into a fund managed by the county to handle ballpark refurbishment, repairs and maintenance.
The D-backs are counting on having access to $15 million to $20 million a year from that fund to borrow on over the course of 30 years, Hall said. But the team has its own tranche of money to get started: $250 million to $300 million, he added. The bill specifies $250 million.
“We’re willing to invest team money,” managing general partner Ken Kendrick said in a January interview on the day Arizona formally announced the signing of pitcher Corbin Burnes. “I don’t want anybody to think the tax money is the only thing going into improving the ballpark. We believe this model has some merit. We’re going to see if the legislature agrees.”
The ballpark, which opened in 1998 for the team’s inaugural National League season, is owned by the county, but operated by the D-backs—the result of a 2018 settlement of a lawsuit between the parties in which the ballclub also agreed to underwrite the year-to-year maintenance. The team has put $200 million into the building since then, Hall said.
As part of the 2018 settlement, the D-backs were given the option of exploring around the county to build a new stadium. That exploration came up empty and was hindered in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly impacted the 2020 MLB season.
As such the Diamondbacks have decided to remain at their current site in the Legends Entertainment District, located just around the corner from the basketball arena, which is owned by the city. The two buildings are the anchor of downtown Phoenix, thus any opposition from the city to the pending legislation is baffling, Hall said.
“We’re an incredible economic engine,” he added.
The last two seasons, the D-backs have installed a new bank of LED lights and fixed the retractable roof, which had been in such poor shape it couldn’t be opened or closed with fans in the ballpark. That $2 million project should be completed by Opening Night on March 27, when the Diamondbacks begin their season against the Chicago Cubs.
The first phase of the large-scale refurbishment would deal with such deteriorating internal infrastructure as plumbing, the electrical grid and a failing air conditioning system. The capacity of 48,519, one of the largest in Major League Baseball, would remain the same. D-backs ownership concluded that it likes the larger capacity for big dates such as the opener, fan giveaways and games against premium opponents, plus concerts and non-baseball events the D-backs now schedule and control. Two years ago, they sold out all seven home dates for the playoffs and World Series.
Ultimately, new suites, restaurants, bars, video boards, kid-friendly facilities and seats will also be part of the rebuild.
“But for sure we’re going to need more premium to compare with what San Diego has at Petco Park or what the Braves have in Atlanta with the Battery,” Hall said. ““We have to redo the whole service level, the clubhouses. We’re having fun planning again. We’ll get with the architects soon. Once we know we have the funding then we’ll get real serious about what our design elements will include.”
The county board of supervisors floated what was then a controversial quarter-cent sales tax in 1994 to pay for its share of ballpark construction, capped at $279 million. When the final price ran to $364 million, the D-backs paid the extra cost.
The Diamondbacks have increased revenue steadily since the pandemic, particularly after losing the 2023 World Series to Texas. Last year they enjoyed the largest attendance increase in MLB with a jump of 380,694 fans. Their $350 million in revenue was the highest in club history despite a 30% decline in local television dollars. Their current $209.5 million player payroll for luxury tax purposes is also a franchise record.
Any discussions with Maricopa County about extending the current lease beyond 2027 are pending and perhaps subject to resolution of the funding legislation. They’re not leaving the Phoenix area, though, any time soon. The bill specifies a series of declining monetary penalties if the D-backs try to leave Arizona anytime before 2050.
The D-backs actually have another source of money to help finance these restorations, but they don’t want to utilize it. In 2021, the state legislature passed bill HB2835, creating a theme park district that allows the team to place up to a 9% user fee on all tickets, food concessions and items sold at the ballpark to fund as much as 80% of construction on public bonds of up to $2 billion. The bill was signed into law by then-governor Doug Ducey.
But Hall said he believes capturing the sales tax as is done in nearby Glendale to make upgrades and improvements on State Farm Stadium, home to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, is the way to go.
There’s currently no debt service on Chase Field, but that could soon change.
“That [sales tax] money is not going to cover what we need, but it’s going to help us borrow right away,” Hall said. “We can’t really rely on that, but it helps service the debt on anything we have to borrow.”
