PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks now have the funding mechanism in place for what will be at least a $750 million refurbishment of Chase Field, where the team has a lease through the 2027 season.
Both sides of the state legislature passed House Bill 2704, which captures some of the sales taxes spent by patrons at the ballpark and earmarks it toward the improvements.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the bill Friday, passing it into law, the team confirmed. Diamondbacks representatives joined Hobbs at a corresponding ceremony.
“We’re ecstatic over the legislative approval of HB2704,” Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall said in a statement this week. “This [is] a monumental victory for baseball and Diamondbacks fans.”
Hall said the Diamondbacks will now turn their attention to extending their Chase Field lease with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Maricopa County owns Chase Field, which was built mostly on public dollars and opened in 1998, the D-backs’ first season after expanding into the National League.
The original cost of the stadium was $364 million—$717 million in today’s dollars—with $253 million provided by the county through a quarter cent raise in the sales tax, and the remainder of cost overruns paid by the ballclub.
The legislation doesn’t create a new tax, but it captures sales taxes patrons spend at Chase Field and adjacent facilities owned by the D-backs up to $500 million over 30 years. It’s a special fund similar to the mechanism the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals use to improve State Farm Stadium in nearby Glendale, Ariz. The D-backs are then expected to spend at least $250 million of their own money in ballpark improvements and commit to remain in Arizona for the term of the deal.
“I’m thrilled that the legislature has passed a bill that will keep the Diamondbacks in Phoenix and create good-paying jobs,” Hobbs said in a statement published on X. “This is a huge win for every Arizonan.”
HB2704 was introduced in January by state representative Jeff Weninger, and it passed the House by a 35-25 margin at the end of February. The Senate, after four months of internal negotiations, also finally passed it 19-11 on June 19, sending the bill with changes back to the House for reconciliation. The House approved it Monday 35-20, sending it to the governor’s desk.
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 the fund managed by the county to handle ballpark refurbishment, repairs and maintenance.
The D-backs are counting on having access to $15-$20 million a year from that fund to borrow on over the course of 30 years, Hall said in March. But the team has its own tranche of money to get started: $250-$300 million, he added. The bill specifies $250 million.
Though the ballpark is owned by the county, it’s 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, including most recently new LED lights and a $2 million fix of the retractable roof.