Diamondbacks Move a Step Closer to Receiving Public Funds for Chase Field

Two weeks ago at the Corbin Burnes introductory press conference, Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick and President, CEO, and General Partner Derrick Hall spoke to the media about future plans for Chase Field.

Specifically, they addressed lobbying efforts with state officials, in an effort to enact a Tax Recapture mechanism to help with the funding of Chase Field renovations.

This mechanism would allow for most of the sales tax collected on ticket sales and revenues inside the ballpark to be directed toward renovations, upgrades, and maintenance.

This is the same type of arrangement that the Arizona Cardinals have for State Farm Stadium. While this is not a new tax, sales tax dollars that would otherwise be directed towards state coffers for spending instead are directed back to the stadium upkeep and improvements.

Kendrick addressed this question when he said "I feel personally very strongly the public doesn't owe us. However, if the public is coming here and spending their money, does the sales tax money go to things unrelated to the ballpark? Could it go to the ballpark? Well, I think it could. It does for the Cardinals. So why not us?"

You can read that full story here, with full comments from Kendrick.

Now, the team is one step closer to seeing their desire for a public/private partnership come to fruition. Republican State Representative Jeff Weninger has introduced legislation, HB 2704 to help set up exactly that type of funding mechanism.

In addition to Weninger, the bill has 17 co-sponsors, including both Republicans and Democrats, indicating there is strong bipartisan support for this bill at the state level (see link above).

The ballpark is owned by Maricopa County, whose board has had a difficult relationship with the Diamondbacks in the past.

But post election turnover, and positive comments coming from new Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin, are another signal that things are moving in a direction to the team's liking.

The Arizona Republic reports that the team is looking to invest $300 million of their own money, and the Tax Recapture plan would provide $15-20 million annually for the stadium. 5% of the 5.6% sales tax would go towards the stadium, with the balance 0.6% remaining being used on education.

There are still many steps in this process before this bill can become law, including passing through both state houses and getting the signature of Governor Hobbs. But this is the first tangible forward movement in this saga we have seen, and is certainly good news for the team and its supporters.

Stay tuned to Arizona Diamondbacks On SI for further updates on this developing story.