Letting Diamondbacks leave stadium would be a mistake

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has great respect for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and for the Arizona Diamondbacks. That’s why it is disappointing that the chamber’s chief executive, Glenn Hamer, didn’t reach out to discuss facts with board members before writing an editorial encouraging the Diamondbacks to break their promise to fans and taxpayers by looking for another stadium option.

Mr. Hamer apparently got to talk to the commissioner of baseball about this topic. We have not been asked, unfortunately, to speak as stewards of the stadium to the commissioner or to Mr. Hamer.

Abandoning Chase Field would leave a hole in the middle of downtown Phoenix and would not, as Hamer suggests, “be a victory for all players involved.” We do not want to inflame the situation further, or to play out disputes in the press, but some attention to the facts is called for.

Maricopa County got into the stadium business after state lawmakers created the Maricopa County Stadium District for the purpose of funding a baseball stadium. A temporary increase in the county sales tax collected $238 million and paid for the ballpark before it was built. There are no public funds going into the stadium today, nor is there authority to collect additional taxes.

In many respects, the constantly cited “$180 million” number from the 2013 facility assessment study represents a wish list of possible improvements at Chase Field over the life of the contract. As a wish list, it includes both necessary capital repairs as well as discretionary upgrades.

Under the contracts, the team is not entitled to anything it wants — some items are eligible to be funded from reserve accounts, while others are not. Many things on that list are also suggestions to be done at the end of the current term, on the assumption the stadium remains a ball field — such as a new Jumbotron.

Hamer’s editorial says that the “study is over four years old now, so needed repairs have surely grown in cost and scope.” Actually, the opposite is true, because capital repairs are made every year. The Stadium District has spent nearly $50 million on capital repairs and additional amenities requested specifically by the team. The reserve fund will have enough money to cover all capital repair projects, so long as the Diamondbacks keep paying rent as they always have.

The editorial claims that the county has a “historical inability to bring nonbaseball events to the stadium.” This is simply not true. Revenue from outside events was never intended to be the primary source of funding for capital repairs. The Diamondbacks were originally the booking agent of nonbaseball events at Chase Field, but had limited success and turned over booking-management rights to the county. The county has done better.

The Diamondbacks signed a 30year agreement that runs until 2028 and contains strong protections for taxpayers. In 2024, the team could begin looking for another place to play. Mr. Hamer wonders why supervisors don’t just let the team look for other options inside Maricopa County because the Stadium District “could sell the Chase Field property for tens of millions of dollars.”

I can assure you, baseball stadiums without an actual baseball team aren’t exactly the hottest real-estate item. Leaving a hole in the ground in the middle of downtown Phoenix is not good for anyone.

The bottom line is, taxpayers do not spend anything to maintain Chase Field right now, and it is and will continue to be well-maintained.

New stadiums are extremely expensive — the new one in Arlington, Texas is expected to cost more than $1 billion — and public appetite for the bonds that fund them may be lower than Congress’ approval rating. The current arrangement was designed to protect taxpayers, and your board members will continue to be good stewards of Chase Field.

Denny Barney is the chairman of the Board of Supervisors, representing District 1. Follow him on Twitter, @Denny _Barney.