The Arizona Diamondbacks have chosen an international architecture firm to design a possible replacement for Chase Field as the team decides whether to leave the 21-year-old downtown Phoenix stadium or renovate it, unnamed sources told industry magazine VenuesNow.

HKS previously designed the team's spring-training complex, Salt River Fields, which opened in 2011, as well as spring-training venues for the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals and football stadiums for the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts.

The company has offices around the world, including in Phoenix.

A Diamondbacks spokesman declined to comment to The Arizona Republic.

The revelation comes weeks after design firm MEIS architects briefly posted online renderings of a newly imagined Diamondbacks field featuring a futuristic shade structure surrounded by palm trees and built into red cliffs. The proposed location was unclear.

At the time, the Diamondbacks downplayed the discovery of the drawings by the blogger AZ Snake Pit.

"As we continue to do our due diligence, we interviewed a number of architecture firms to understand possibilities both for renovation of Chase Field and a potential new stadium, if and when the time is needed," team officials said in a May statement. "We have never seen this design and we continue to consider all options to ensure the best long-term home for the D-backs and our fans."

The report that HKS is the Diamondbacks' top pick to draft a new stadium plan did not include concept images and did not confirm that a contract had been signed.

The article notes construction could likely be completed no sooner than 2023.

The team is allowed to leave Chase Field without penalty in 2022, five years earlier than the original contract, after striking a deal with Maricopa County to drop a lawsuit arguing the county should pay $187 million in stadium repairs.

Team officials have maintained renovating Chase Field and staying in downtown Phoenix is not yet ruled out.

Contact the reporter at rsanders@azcentral.com or follow her on Twitter at @RebekahLSanders.

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