D-backs Still Far Away from a Stadium Deal
The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking to invest between $400-500 million in stadium renovations, but they can't do it alone and are seeking public funding support to achieve their goal. As of this morning, Managing Partner Ken Kendrick and President and CEO Derrick Hall expressed disappointment and frustration with how the negotiations with public officials have gone to this point, as they're still far apart on a deal.
With a lease that runs out at the end of the 2027 season, Hall expressed that the timetable to know where they stand is nearing a point where they need to know soon if they can reach a deal. While Hall emphasized the negotiations are not yet at an impasse and that the public officials are "very engaged," it's been a full year since he last addressed the issue at Spring Training 2023, and it appears little, if any progress has been made on this front. In February last year Hall said they needed to resolve this by mid summer 2023. That time frame came and went without any real progress apparently.
Kendrick pointed to other cities that have public/private partnerships such as Baltimore, Cleveland and Milwaukee that are not as economically vibrant as the Phoenix area. On follow-up Kendrick was asked if relocating to another city was something they had considered.
"We aren't having those conversations, there are opportunities available. There are other cities that would covet having major league baseball. It's not like I'm speaking out of school to say that and those names are prominent cities that would love to have a major league team. We're not in dialogue with those communities, but we're aware of what is going on. There is likely to be in time an expansion of our sport to a couple of additional cities. Cities are letting MLB know their interest in getting a team is specific. They would be happy with a brand new franchise, they would certainly be very happy with frankly a successful existing franchise. It's not where we are spending time or energy. We may run out of time in Phoenix, we hope that won't happen. "
Some may view his response as a veiled threat, but Kendrick insisted he wasn't threatening. Hall also followed by saying "Where we're encouraged is in those conversations we're still having today you hear the willingness from all the municipalities, they don't want us going anywhere. I hope there's light at the end of the tunnel because we're ready to get started."
The team has made some improvements this past off season, including upgrades to the stadium sound system and installing LED sports lights. The roof issues have not been addressed however. It will still require a significant amount of time to open and close the roof and the team will avoid doing that when fans are in the stadium. Hall said the team felt comfortable with their ability to manage that as they did last year, and will focus on other priorities in the meantime.
Kendrick said that roughly half of the money they expect to spend on renovations will be to address infrastructure issues, including plumbing and electrical. Beyond infrastructure a major focus of the renovations will also be towards amenities, such as more club and suite options, and improved children's areas. Limiting capacity and taking out seats is not on the table.
Kendrick downplayed any possibility of trying to build a new stadium as that is not an economically viable option, due to the need for climate control. The bottom line for the Diamondbacks is they are either not able or willing to go it alone when it comes to spending $500 million on renovations, but have had little success in exerting leverage to get the politicians at the state and local levels to advance proposals that allow them to conclude a deal. There is likely little if any appetite on the part of the public to pay any significant money in the type of public/private deal they are looking for. From the outside looking in, with so much time having gone by without a deal, and the specter of an expiring lease and possible relocation looming, the clock is ticking loudly.
