The Arizona Diamondbacks have been in negotiations with Maricopa County about extending their lease on Chase Field, whose current contract expires in 2027, but the amicable talks took a turn for the worse this week.
AZCentral.com published a summary of the letter. A contentious exchange began this week between the Diamondbacks and Maricopa County, which sent a counterproposal that Diamondbacks CEO and president Derrick Hall called “deeply offensive” in a private response.
Hall on Thursday. Arizona Sports' Bickley & Marotta Relations soured last week. Indeed, with the current lease expiring in 2027, “there is no prospect of an agreement,” he said.
“Make no mistake, in my opinion, the proposal, the counterproposal, is ridiculous,” Hall said of why he was upset. “But the fact that they even put it out there is incomprehensible. I've used words like 'encouraging' and 'optimistic' for quite some time. Those words are certainly gone. It's sad.”
“So instead of doing it quietly, confidentially and respectfully like we've always done, they decided to go public with this. Lawyers talk to each other and it stays confidential. Then they send us their response and rebuttal, which they publish and then it gets into the media. That's how they view the situation.”
Hall said one problem with the counterproposal sent to the team is that the county is asking the Diamondbacks to pay about $200 million if they want to lift zoning to allow mixed-use development of restaurants, hotels and retail around the ballpark.
Diamondbacks guard Derrick Hall said a deal with Chase Field was “not in sight” after receiving the letter from the county.
Derrick Hall's visit to Bickley & Marotta is brought to you by All Pro Shade Concepts.
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“We're very pleased with the decision,” Deputy County Administrator Zach Sira told AZCentral.com. The county said the proposal was “fair” and that it was committed to keeping the team at Chase Field, but the county did not respond to a request from AZCentral.com for a public statement on the Diamondbacks' counterproposal.
Hall said. Arizona Sports The article shows how difficult it has been for the county to cope.
The Diamondbacks' relationship with Maricopa County's Chase Field has had a tumultuous history.
Five years ago, the Diamondbacks had a falling out with Maricopa County over stadium ownership (the stadium is owned by the county), but they struck a deal that allowed the Diamondbacks to manage non-baseball events like concerts, which the county argues puts the team entirely responsible for keeping Chase Field up to date.
Until this week, Hall said his relationship with the county was good.
Separate discussions about how the Diamondbacks could fund renovations at Chase Field revolved around tax collections, similar to how the Arizona Cardinals fund renovations and maintenance at State Farm Stadium.
But this week, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers struck a different tone in his response and counter-proposal to a letter Hall sent this summer.
“I don't understand why they would want to make it public. It just shows how bad the proposal was,” Hall said. Bickley & Marotta“Government authorities have long demonstrated that they have no desire or ability to put money into their own buildings – not even a penny. You can see that by looking at their proposals.”
“They're asking us to sign a 50-year extension with no public funding at this point, which they're trying to accomplish through a very real tax levy, and yet they're asking us not to even pursue the mixed-use that we've been saying all along that we need – restaurants, hotels, retail – mixed-use around the ballpark. And they're saying they won't even allow us to discuss that opportunity, let alone unlock that so-called opportunity and potential, until we put close to $200 million into the ballpark. Again, they haven't put in a penny.”
Hall said the timeline for finding a solution still remains the first month or two of 2025.
The upcoming election also plays a role: Sellers, who sent the Diamondbacks' most scathing letter, lost the primary and will not be able to return to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The other two auditors did not seek re-election, meaning most of the current five-person board will not be returning.
Still, Hall said Thursday that the county's attitude is “killing momentum.”
“We don't see an agreement with the county, at least not with the current board makeup. It's not possible,” Hall said. “We'll continue to work with the state and the city to see if there's a way we can resolve the issues that they have.”
Hall said the Diamondbacks will continue to explore options to keep the team operating at Chase Field, with the Nov. 5 general election due in between. how Whether the Diamondbacks will fund stadium renovations presents a challenge in itself.
“We need to know that there's a public-private partnership,” he said. “If we can find that by then (early 2025), we'll be OK.”
