The Arizona Sports & Tourism Authority board Thursday approved $1M in “funding for improvements to Maryvale Baseball Park,” the Brewers' Spring Training home, according to Peter Corbett of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The money will “go to the city of Phoenix, which owns the spring-training complex, for expansion of team offices and weight rooms” for the club. The city and the Brewers are “finalizing an agreement that would keep the Brewers in Maryvale for at least two more spring seasons and possibly for another decade if additional improvements are made.” Phoenix Deputy City Manager Rick Naimark said that the city will pay $1.5M upfront for improvements, with the authority reimbursing the city $1M “when the money is available, projected to be 2021.” Even with expansion, the complex will be “about half as large” as the shared D’Backs/Rockies facilities at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The Brewers “must decide by April 2014 whether to stay in Maryvale beyond the end of that year.” The team has “a series of one-year options beyond that” date allowing it to keep playing in Maryvale through ’22 (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/20).
