The Arizona Diamondbacks’ legislative push to find a long-term solution for upgrading their downtown Phoenix home, Chase Field, hit a few minor roadbumps recently.
A letter sent from Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs last week pushed back on some of HB 2704’s initial frameworks.
After the bill passed in the Arizona House on Feb. 26, it moved to the Senate, which has been tweaking the legislation.
“We got through the finance committee on Monday and so that was successful,” D-backs CEO and president Derrick Hall told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Wednesday
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“There’s been a lot of amendments obviously and every time there’s an amendment, it seems like this building takes a hit cash-wise. I really don’t want any more amendments but it’s bound to happen. There’s a lot of debate, a lot of give and take. I’m still very encouraged and hopeful. It’s really support on both sides — it’s been bipartisan all along.”
HB 2704 must get passed through the state Senate appropriations and rules committees before getting cleared for a floor vote. Then it would go back to the House for a revote on the bill reconstructed with the Senate’s amendments.
HB 2704 was designed to somewhat mirror how the Arizona Cardinals use sales and income taxes from State Farm Stadium to fund upgrades and renovations to their home stadium.
The sales tax would only come from sales at Chase Field.
The Diamondbacks pitched a plan that would take 5% of the 5.6% of sales taxes that already exist at Chase Field to send to a fund (0.6% will continue to fund education). The bill’s primary author, Republican Rep. Jeff Weninger of Chandler, and Hall emphasized when the bill was introduced that it does not add any taxes but redistributes them.
Money from the income taxes would be taken from employees, including from players. That section about employee income taxes getting redirected to the fund was removed in one of the amendments this week, according to Axios’s Jeremy Duda.
Another amendment capped funding at $500 million over the 30 years the bill would cover.
“One of the misnomers out there is, ‘Well, the Diamondbacks told you they only need $400-to-$500 million. Why are they looking for more?'” Hall said Wednesday. “Well, it’s $400-to-$500 million today. That’s what this building needs now.
“If we’re going to sign up to be here another 30 years, you can imagine what needs are going to be down the road. It’s going to be easily another $400-to-$500 million.”
Hall said the D-backs have already put in around $200 million of their own money and will pledge $250 million more into the private-public partnership.
“We’ll put our skin in the game,” he added. “This is one where it would be a county-city-state (deal). I’m really proud of the state to take such leadership role in this and I think we have the support of the governor.
“She’s been vocal on that: She wants us to stay. End of the day … I think everybody wants us to stay.”
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