PHOENIX — The Maricopa County, Ariz. Board of Supervisors has voted to explore the sale of Chase Field after a disagreement with the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team over repairs to the 18-year-old venue.
The board announced Wednesday that it had voted to sign a letter of intent with Stadium Real Estate Partners II, LLC in conjunction with The Integral Group of Atlanta, regarding the downtown Phoenix stadium.
The minimum purchase price for the bond-funded stadium would be $60 million and current agreements would remain to keep the team at the stadium. The announcement comes less than two weeks after revelations that members of the Diamondbacks front office had exchanged ugly words with Supervisor Andrew Kunasek in a written back-and-forth earlier this year. The center of the disagreement was $65 million of repairs needed to the facility, which the team wanted the county to pay.
The uneasy relationship between the team and the county had begun to take its toll, particularly when the team announced in March that it wanted to break its lease years ahead of schedule and begin negotiating for a new venue. Board members said this week that they view the possible sale of the field as a way to solve the problem.
"A letter of intent shows our willingness to consider a possible sale," said Board chairman Clint Hickman. "This is a great starting point to find out what the stadium is worth and possibly put it in the hands of a developer who can make the improvements that keep the team at Chase Field beyond the original agreement."
The letter of intent allows the county to choose the appraiser and the potential buyer to visit and inspect the property.
"The Diamondbacks have been great partners for nearly two decades but the county's relationship with the team has been strained in recent years," said supervisor Steve Chucri. "We believe a private partner will help the team achieve its vision and stay at Chase Field."
The Diamondbacks as the facility manager will have to agree to any sale of the stadium. The potential buyer has indicated it hopes to make the team a long-term partner.
"Owning a stadium was always outside of the county's core business," said Kunasek, whose letters to the team indicated that he always opposed a taxpayer financing of the ballpark. "But bringing Major League Baseball to the valley 20 years ago has been a good thing. We hope putting the stadium in private hands is the step that keeps a team playing here."
