Arizona plans to commit a half billion dollars for stadium renovations.
Does Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred have a Phoenix problem? It appeared the ownership of the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise had a deal done with Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs which created a Tax Recapture law that would fund the Phoenix stadium renovation. But nothing has been signed yet. The Tax Recapture Bill is a mechanism that will allow the taxes on money spent in the ballpark including tickets, parking, and concessions, be recaptured, or redirected to a fund the renovations. The bill is expected to generate up to $500 million over a period of time. That money probably could be used else in Phoenix but it is going into an entertainment venue. But there is no agreement between the state and the Diamondbacks ownership.
“Once again, we’re going to have to negotiate a lease extension, which, which we haven’t,” Arizona CEO Derrick Hall said. “We’re looking at bylaws for the new stadium board, we’re looking at discussing now and negotiating a lease extension, because we don’t have one.” There is another problem. The cost of renovating the Phoenix building is going to cost more than originally estimated. It may cost as much as three quarters of a billion dollars. Diamondbacks ownership has been looking to fix its stadium situation for a number of years. In 2019, Arizona Diamondbacks’ ownership listened to a Henderson, Nevada pitch to build a ballpark for the Major League Baseball franchise. Diamondbacks ownership was looking for a new or renovated Phoenix stadium and needed to interject some urgency among Phoenix area politicians to help fund a renovation of its existing stadium or build a new baseball park. Henderson is part of the Las Vegas market. Nothing came of the talks and no other area in the Phoenix region seemed interested in building a stadium. The Phoenix stadium situation is unresolved.
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