Maricopa County, which owns the 20-year-old ballpark, still needs to approve the dealGETTY IMAGES
The D-backs can start looking for a new ballpark in the Phoenix region via a tentative deal with Maricopa County, resolving their legal fight over $185M in repairs at Chase Field. The team would be responsible for repairs and renovations as well as take over management and bookings at Chase Field. The deal also allows the club to start looking at new ballpark options, including tribal lands. “They can look right away,” said Maricopa County Communications Dir Fields Moseley. The county, which owns the 20-year-old ballpark, still needs to approve the deal. The D-backs would pay a penalty of between $5-25M if it moves out of the Phoenix market. There would be no sanctions if they move to another ballpark in metro Phoenix after ‘22 and sign a 20-year commitment. They also could look at rebuilding or renovating Chase Field (Mike Sunnucks, Staff Writer). Maricopa County Board Chair Steve Chucri said that he "does not believe the league would move the team." He added that the county "would sue if it did." Chucri said that there are "'far worse stadiums' that the MLB hasn't required teams to leave," so yanking the D-backs "would be bad faith." In Phoenix, Rebekah Sanders in a front-page piece notes MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and the D-backs have "threatened to leave in the past." But Chucri said that he "believed it was a negotiating tactic" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/3).
