With stadium funding talks heating up, Gov. Katie Hobbs and Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin are optimistic about reaching a deal that could keep the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field and support renovations to the aging ballpark.
Galvin spoke Thursday after a stakeholder meeting involving several key parties.
“In the meeting was the city of Phoenix, Maricopa County, the D-backs, the legislators who are the leaders of this and the governor’s staff,” Galvin said on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce and Gaydos on Thursday. “So everyone did a really good job of talking professionally, friendly and cordially. And made a lot of good progress over the last couple hours.”
House Bill HB2704 — which proposes redirecting sales tax revenue generated at Chase Field back into funding improvements for the stadium — passed the Arizona House on Feb. 26. While it has moved more slowly in the Senate, the bill advanced out of the Senate Finance Committee on March 24.
The proposal has drawn criticism, particularly from the city of Phoenix, for reallocating public funds. Throughout the legislative process, it has undergone several revisions, including implementing a cap on public spending, removing provisions that would redirect income tax revenue and requiring Maricopa County to match the city’s financial contributions.
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin has spoken out against the revised bill, outlining his concerns in an op-ed for AZCentral.com.
“If you’re not a D-backs fan, or you don’t go to Chase Field for a concert like Billy Joel or Stevie Nicks, hey, no harm for you,” Galvin said. “But if you buy a T-shirt, you buy a ticket, you buy a hot dog then it makes sense that that money can then be plowed back into the stadium.
“There was an amendment that came up about a month ago in which the legislation would scoop out money from the general fund from the county. We didn’t like that. We didn’t think that was cool because that takes away money from our deputy prosecutors.
Galvin wants to go back to the initial intent of the bill — using revenue generated at the stadium to fund the renovations, rather than outside funding and would support the deal.
“It looks like we’re headed in that direction,” Galvin continued. “And that’s the request that we made, and that’s what I advocated for at the meeting. There was a lot of deal points, but that was the biggest one as far as the county is concerned.”
Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall added on Thursday that “we’re maybe at the 5-yard line” in getting a renovation deal done.
Hobbs echoed Galvin’s optimism and is for the bill if it protects the taxpayers as well.
Gov. Katie Hobbs wants to make sure taxpayers don't get the short end of the stick in a potential Chase Field renovations deal. @OutspokenKTAR @GovernorHobbs
Full interview: t.co/Y9UkK1sQTn pic.twitter.com/NWvnepnQb9
— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) May 2, 2025
“And we’re looking at a different model of financing it,” Hobbs said. “So I think we’re in a good place and I think you’re not alone in wanting the government to be out of the stadium business. And again, that’s why it’s a huge priority for me to make sure we’re protecting taxpayers in this.”
Before signing off, Hobbs hinted that a resolution may come soon in the next two weeks.
“Maybe, the Diamondbacks bill would pass,” Hobbs said. “It could.”
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