Chase Field: AZ state legislators to vote on renovation funding bill

Movement in Chase Field renovations bill

A bill that aims to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to renovate Chase Field in Downtown Phoenix has come back to life, after it languished in the State Senate. FOX 10's Steve Nielsen reports.

PHOENIX - A bill to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to renovate Chase Field in Downtown Phoenix has come back to life, after the bill stalled at the Arizona State Legislature in recent weeks.

The backstory:

Chase Field, according to MLB.com in 2021, was first known as Bank One Ballpark, and the stadium had its opening night in March 1998. 

Officials with the Arizona Diamondbacks have said the stadium 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."

Recently, there have been major disagreements over how to pay for $500 million of renovations to the building, which is owned by Maricopa County. House Bill 2704 arrived at the start of the year, but got pushback immediately.

The original plan, taking sales tax at the stadium and diverting it to the team, stalled in the Senate. Team CEO Derrick Hall has called the approach ‘lethargic,’ with a budget deadline looming at the end of the month.

What We Now Know:

A State Senate spokesperson has said lawmakers will vote on a refreshed bill, come June 19.

The refreshed bill contains the following changes:

• A $500 million cap on public funds.
• Requiring the Arizona Diamondbacks to shell out $250 million
• Fining the team $10 million if they leave Arizona before the year 2035

Analyst criticizes bill

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee found the bill would cost state and local authorities about $15 million a year in diverted tax revenue, and Economic analyst Dave Wells says bills like these aren't good for taxpayers.

What Wells Said:

"It's almost never a good deal to subsidize sports teams," said Wells. "It's a very consistent finding in economic research, which is sports teams, if you think of them as an economic development engine, they just are not that."

D-Backs fan hopes for deal

Dante Buscaglia can't imagine a world without his Arizona Diamondbacks.

"Just the feelings that it brings everybody," said Buscaglia.

Beyond having a truly shocking collection of Diamondbacks baseball cards, he had an engagement part of the field. They're a Diamondbacks family.

"I think this needs to stay in Downtown as well. I think this is a huge part of downtown in the Valley," said Buscaglia. "Why would we want to lose such a huge focal point? Why would we want to lose the history we grew with the Diamondbacks?"

What's next:

If the bill is approved, it would go back to the State House for approval before going to Governor Katie Hobb's desk.