Bill to fund repairs at Chase Field moves through Arizona Legislature
PHOENIX - A bill to fund repairs at Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, continues to move forward in the state legislature, despite strong objections from the mayor of Phoenix.
An Arizona Senate committee advanced a modified version of House Bill 2704 on March 24.
The bill would set a cap on public contributions at $500 million, increase Maricopa County's contributions to match the city's share, remove the diversion of income tax to the stadium district and make it so the D-backs could move the team shop outside the stadium, but still have it considered to be part of the ballpark's footprint.
What they're saying:
"People try to couch this as giving money to the Diamondbacks, and it couldn't be further from the truth, because the Diamondbacks don't own the stadium. This is only taking the sales tax money that's collected inside the stadium, if you go to a game, and repurpose that to improve that stadium," said Arizona Rep. Jeff Weninger, one of the bill's sponsors.
Even with the changes to the bill, Mayor Kate Gallego says the bill is not fiscally responsible.
"This bill will cost Arizona taxpayers $1 billion, even as amended, and the D-backs won’t be paying half. In fact, they’re not required to pay a single dollar, and that, my friends, is a boondoggle," said Gallego.
Gallego asked that the Diamondbacks be required to match public dollars spent on the project and limit how public dollars can be spent.
"I think we can find a fiscally responsible way to do this, but we ought to cap luxury amenities, and we ought to have annual caps on taxpayer contributions," Gallego said.
The D-backs say the stadium, which has been the team's home since 1998, desperately needs repairs and renovations.
"The stadium is in dire need of improvement and repair. We need a new scoreboard, the roof needs fixing, then there are the critical repairs nobody sees: the plumbing, the pipes and the other infrastructure fixes," former D-backs player and senior advisor to the President & CEO, Luis Gonzalez, said. "Obviously, there are other states that want teams and this is our team, our hometown team. We don't want to go anywhere. We want to be here in the state of Arizona. The Diamondbacks are Arizona."
Chase Field bill advances in Arizona Legislature
A bill to fund repairs at Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, continues to move forward in the state legislature, despite strong objections from Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. FOX 10's Irene Snyder reports.
What's next:
The finance committee narrowly passed the bill by a 4-3 vote. It now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee before going to the full Senate.
The measure would then have to go back to the House to be voted on with the amendment.
Sponsors of the bill say it still needs work.
Mayor Gallego asked for a stakeholder meeting, hoping to get all financial parties to talk with the goal of moving this forward and keeping the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Dig deeper:
The D-backs' current lease on Chase Field runs through the 2027 season. The team claims renovations would cost between $400-500 million.