The Arizona Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall spoke to reporters and media ahead of the team's home game against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday evening. After introducing a raffle for an actual NLCS ring that the players received, the talks turned to business.
The biggest news is that Hall spoke about having increased conversations with city, state, and county over extending the lease at Chase Field and creating a process to pay for renovations via "Tax Recapture."
"Our dialogue is going on, it's constant. We're looking at extending the lease here with the stadium and county first so that we make sure we're here beyond 27'. Still figuring out what the perfect path is. We've talked about this idea of a tax recapture. We're starting to gain a little bit more ground with that."
When asked for more information about the Tax Recapture, Hall said it's how State Farm Stadium is funded and is done. "They get their sales tax back, some income tax back goes right into the stadium, not the organization. That's something that we're all looking at because there's a precedent there and that's how a lot of stadiums are funded throughout the country and that might be a path that makes a lot of sense."
Hall said that through negotiations, there's been three different options that have been heavily discussed and looked at. "We've talked about increasing the hotel tax, the downside is that's more like a new tax. We'd rather not create a new tax. This doesn't so I mean early on, it was should we do that theme park but that is increasing taxes against our fans, the second one was that hotel tax which we got a little pushback on."
The third option was doing what the Cardinals are doing with their stadium, which is recapturing their sales taxes. " it's recapture the sales tax that you generate so it's not like you're creating a new sales tax. It goes right into the stadium only and look at income taxes as a form too."
This wasn't the Diamondbacks idea either. The idea spawned from elected officials.
"It came from some of the elected officials as an idea and so as long as we can fund the place and do what we need to make it like some of the newer ballparks so we can compete and generate revenue, I'm all over it...It's the way a lot of them are doing it now like Milwaukee. "
Hall did confirm that the team will not seek a new tax district or any kind of taxes that increases costs for D-backs fans at Chase Field.
As for the timeline for extending the lease at Chase Field and what the time range of years at Chase Field looks like, Hall said "Probably six months [for the lease extension]."
"It depends if they prioritize before or after the election. There's going to be a change of seats, there's a few that aren't running for re-election so we have momentum with those that are there now so I'd say time-wise, it probably makes sense to get it done before the election."
The D-backs have plans to "to develop around here, you want a longer term, you would hate to invest in say retail, hotel, whatever we may do and after 15, 20 years, they can say seeya, so yeah you want to make sure you're here for a long time if you're going to fully invest here and develop around which we have intentions to do."
The D-backs are looking at staying at Chase Field for a significant amount of time. "We're going to invest a lot of money into this place to make it state of the art so it can stand another 25-50 years."
It is a risk to sign a lease without knowing that they will have a clear path to fund the needed renovations, but Hall said: "We'll have a clear indication, not to mention at that point, we'll probably want to bring all parties into the room and say we're about to do this so let's make sure we do this."
As for how successful this season has been monetary wise for the Arizona Diamondbacks even with a lackluster record, Hall spoke on how encouraging it is to see fans come out for games and spend money.
The D-backs have enjoyed the largest attendance increase in MLB this year. "Year over year, from last year to this year, we're up 39% over last year" Hall also said that merchadise sales were up 65% over last year.
That increase in money could lead to further investments in the team's roster and payroll both at the trade deadline and in the offseason. Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick has often spoke about how the money the team makes goes back to the team's payroll.
Not even the injuries and the team's under.500 record has caused a decrease in any noticeable way. "Even with renewals, it hasn't. I think fans understand we've had some bad breaks with injuries. They're a little more patient right now. Expectations are higher after last year. At some point, hopefully we get all the reinforcements back, we start playing like we expect to play."
It certainly sounds as if the Arizona Diamondbacks are making Chase Field their permanent home for the foreseeable future. This is welcome news for fans as it's in a central location that is easier for fans across the city and state can get to, plus it's the original home of the D-backs.
