Craig Harris

The Republic | azcentral.com

The Arizona Diamondbacks want a more lucrative stadium deal, and the franchise is threatening to sue Maricopa County and leave downtown Phoenix if it is not provided with a "state of the art" facility.

Maricopa County officials say they are willing to work with the Diamondbacks to enhance Chase Field. But they do not plan to give in to the team's demands, saying they are protecting taxpayers. They also say a contract between the team and the county's stadium district prohibits the Diamondbacks from looking for a new home until 2024.

Four years of mostly private discussions about improving the stadium erupted Thursday when the team's threats became public and the two sides held dueling press conferences late in the afternoon.

YOUR TAKE: Diamondbacks vs. Maricopa County over Chase Field

Team officials declined to say where the franchise would go if it leaves downtown Phoenix. The Diamondbacks have a business relationship with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which built the club a shared spring-training facility east of Scottsdale on Loop 101.

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One of the key issues is which side is responsible for roughly $187 million in current and future maintenance obligations through 2027 at Chase Field. That maintenance includes painting the facility, fixing lights, maintaining landscaping, upgrading video surveillance, improving luxury suites, replacing heating and cooling systems, and updating scoreboard panels and display boards, according to county records.

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The team contends the county is on the hook for those repairs. The team also argues that because Maricopa County won't do the repairs, the county should let the team modify its lease so the Diamondbacks can "take such actions as it deems necessary in order to move and play Diamondbacks baseball games in a location other than Chase Field."

County officials say the team is responsible for the funding of stadium maintenance. The county maintains there is at least $16 million also available in a county-controlled reserve fund for capital projects at the stadium.

Clint Hickman, chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said taxpayers already invested more than a quarter-billion dollars to build the stadium, which opened in 1998. He believes changing the terms of the contract would cost the public more money.

"We want to protect the taxpayers," Hickman said

County Manager Tom Manos said the Diamondbacks for the past four years have tried to lower their annual rent payments to $200,000 from the current $4.2 million. Manos said he and other county officials have turned them down. Other county officials said the team is looking for a better deal than what was negotiated back in the mid-1990s — an agreement the county considers more favorable to taxpayers.

Diamondbacks Chief Executive Derrick Hall acknowledged the team wants a better stadium deal. He said it is needed to compete with other Major League Baseball teams and to put a winning product on the field. The team this off-season signed ace pitcher Zack Greinke to a six-year contract worth $206 million, and traded for pitcher Shelby Miller.

"We want to make sure we have a facility that is state of the art," Hall said at a press conference at Chase Field.

While Hall was diplomatic during his press conference, he sent a blistering 15-page letter to the county Thursday outlining the team's grievances. Originally written in January, the letter was not sent until the dispute heated up Thursday.

Hall's letter says the team wants to stay in downtown Phoenix, but "if there is no other choice, we will go elsewhere." It notes that if the team determines a retrofit of Chase Field is not feasible and if the county doesn't grant permission for it to look elsewhere, "we will ask the court for all appropriate relief."

The team, in a separate letter dated March 16, notified Maricopa County that it wanted permission to begin looking for another stadium location.

In order to do so, the team must be released from certain provisions of its contract with the county. The contract runs through 2028, but the team must have county permission to discuss options with anyone else prior to the last four years of the contract's term.

The county refused the team's request in a letter Wednesday, saying taxpayers built the facility with $238 million in sales taxes.

The Phoenix Suns basketball team and the Arizona Coyotes hockey franchise also have complained about their taxpayer-funded arenas and want new deals.

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In one of Hall's letters, he stated that Chase Field soon will be the fourth oldest stadium in the National League, behind only Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium and Coors Field.

"In order to protect the Diamondbacks' franchise value and ability to contribute to the community, the team must now pursue other stadium options and work expeditiously towards concluding its relationship with the district in an orderly manner," he wrote.

Hall went on to say that the team contributed $128 million toward stadium construction, and has made $45 million in charitable contributions in the Arizona community.