The Arizona House of Representatives voted Monday to give half-a-billion dollars to the Arizona Diamondbacks for improvements to Chase Field.
The stadium, which is owned by a county stadium district, opened in 1998. For several years, the team and the county have been fighting over who should be on the hook for improvements to the aging building. House Bill 2704, which was approved by the Senate late last week, allocates $500 million in sales tax and income tax collected at the stadium over the next 30 years to pay for improvements.
In late February, the bill had already passed out of the House but faced opposition in the Senate, where it remained stalled until recent budget negotiations and a lengthy list of amendments ended up getting the city of Phoenix, which had originally opposed the bill, to support it.
Some of those amendments included limiting Phoenix’s contribution to the upgrades to $3.5 million and a statement that it is the legislature’s intent that the team contribute $250 million. Lawmakers don’t actually have a way to enforce that provision, but did add language to allow them to repeal the renovation law if the team fails to pay what was agreed to.
“This is a really hard bill for me, because it is giving the D-backs $20 million a year in tax dollars from both state and county over a 30-year period,” Rep. Mariana Sandoval, D-Goodyear, said when explaining her vote. “This morning, I wasn’t ready to vote yes on this bill, but because I’ve learned that unions now have signed contracts to get work from this bill, I am going to support it.”
Supporters have said that it is the only way to ensure that the team stays in Arizona, while critics have said that their constituents are weary of subsidizing the team’s billionaire owner with taxpayer dollars.
Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick has a net worth of $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.
“I know there are concerns among our constituents about funding subsidies for private corporations. I share a lot of those concerns,” Rep. Aaron Márquez, D-Phoenix, said, adding that he believes the Senate amendments address those concerns and that the renovations will bring “good-paying jobs for Arizonans.”
While the bill passed out of the House on a 35-20 vote, it split normal partisan coalitions, with Republicans and Democrats voting both in favor and against the bill.
It will next head to Gov. Katie Hobbs' desk for her to either sign or veto. Hobbs, whose office facilitated negotiations on the bill, seems likely to sign it into law. After it passed out of the House, she tweeted she was "thrilled that the legislature has passed a bill that will keep the Diamondbacks in Phoenix and create good-paying jobs," calling the bill "a huge win for every Arizonan."
This story was first published by Arizona Mirror, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
