Much like a bench clearing brawl in an MLB game, the feud between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Maricopa County over repairs to Chase Field is rapidly getting out of hand.
According to a recent report in The Arizona Republic, the county rejected a request by the organization for $65 million in upgrades. The team is prepared to leave Maricopa County if repairs, which include suite renovations, painting, and a new scoreboard, aren’t met.
County officials, however, claim the repairs don’t meet the lease agreement’s requirements for funding and say the repairs are cosmetic, leaving the responsibility for repairs with the franchise.
Disputes between cities and professional organizations over stadium funding is nothing new, but this particular conversation escalated to a heated argument, fast.
In a letter, Maricopa County Supervisor Andy Kunasek accused Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall of selling a “false narrative” and said the baseball business is “evolving into a parasitic enterprise.”
Hall wasn’t his only target. Kunasek also said county board members are doing “irreparable harm” to taxpayer confidence in government (the stadium was built with $238 million in taxpayer money).
Meanwhile, Kunasek saved his harshest words for team owner Ken Kendrick. In documents obtained by the Republic, Kunasek, who is not seeking reelection, is quoted telling Kendrick to “take your stupid baseball team and get out” and go back to “f—king West Virginia.”
In an interview with the Republic, Kunasek didn’t deny the account and apologized for his “bad language” and said, “I’m very passionate about the issues here. As a steward of the taxpayer, I’m deeply offended and continue to be.”
Hall, meanwhile, responded to the situation with a letter of his own which read, in part, “For now, I will assume that based upon your comments, there is no interest on behalf of either the City of Phoenix or Maricopa County in furthering the past partnership (with) the Diamondbacks. Your candor with respect to this issue will cause us to move forward in a different direction.”
The Diamondbacks contract with the county calls for the team to remain in Chase Field through 2027. However, the organization may seek to opt out of the lease earlier.
Located in downtown Phoenix, Chase Field is the only home the Diamondbacks franchise has ever known. Opening in the team’s inaugural season of 1998, Chase Field (then known as Bank One Ballpark) made history as the first stadium in the league with a retractable-roof over a natural-grass playing surface. It was the site of the Diamondbacks thrilling Game 7 victory over the New York Yankees in 2001, which gave the franchise its first and only World Series championship.
