County may sell Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, to investors

[AZ Native]

"The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in contemplating selling the iconic Chase Field in downtown Phoenix to private investors, and will meet Wednesday to vote on starting negotiations.

The vote comes amid tension between the county and the Arizona Diamondbacks over who is responsible for as much as $187 million in repairs to the 18-year-old baseball stadium. Opened in 1998, the stadium is owned entirely by the county despite a team investment in its construction."

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...home-arizona-diamondbacks-investors/88836698/

Here we go!!!

 

[sundevil04]

Would this mean the team would have to/get to move?

 

[Azlen]

Would this mean the team would have to/get to move?

If you're buying a baseball stadium, you're probably going to want to have a baseball team playing in it. The possibility of another one coming here is fairly remote, so I think that whoever buys it will do what they can to keep the D'backs in the stadium.

 

[unseenaz]

If you're buying a baseball stadium, you're probably going to want to have a baseball team playing in it. The possibility of another one coming here is fairly remote, so I think that whoever buys it will do what they can to keep the D'backs in the stadium.

i would be overly welcome of a well run organization to play in chase, let the dbacks move to west virginia for all i care

 

[Kel Varnsen]

If you're buying a baseball stadium, you're probably going to want to have a baseball team playing in it. The possibility of another one coming here is fairly remote, so I think that whoever buys it will do what they can to keep the D'backs in the stadium.

Maybe one of the local prep schools can buy it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[82CardsGrad]

To me this is a very odd development... I'd love to know who The Integral Group are and what they're vision is for owning Chase. I mean, paying $60 million for it and then agreeing to dump more than $100 million more into it to make the Dbacks happy... How will they ever get that money back?? Seems like an extremely risky deal on their part. Why would they do this?

 

[overseascardfan]

Wasn't the cost to build Chase like $200M? The sales price being $60M is kind of odd, even in dumping $100M into it, the value depreciated?

 

[unseenaz]

Wasn't the cost to build Chase like $200M? The sales price being $60M is kind of odd, even in dumping $100M into it, the value depreciated?

that's the minimum starting bid, from what i've gathered

 

[Bodha]

Not necessarily a bad thing. Sort of like adopt a street. Private owner would take better care of it than a governing body

 

[Matt L]

I read that the projected cost of the stadium was $250 million but the end costs were closer to $350 million. My understanding is the county (taxpayers) provided $253 million and the Dbacks were to cover anything over that amount.

I guess i have a few questions.
1. If the county sells the stadium, does the county still owe the the remaining balance on the loan they used to pay the $253 million for the stadium (whatever that amount may be)? I would think that is the case and they would use whatever proceeds from the sale to pay off the balance but the sales tax would probably remain within the county until its expiration.

2. Can anyone speculate why a private company would want to buy the stadium/stadium district?

3. I know the city of Phoenix has been really putting a lot of investment into the downtown area. Wouldn't they not want a private company to buy this real estate?

 

[AZ Native]

Recent developments:

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to move forward with negotiations to sell Chase Field, the downtown Phoenix home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, to private out-of-state investors.

The buyers would be required to purchase the stadium and land for no less than $60 million. County officials said that figure is higher than a 2010 appraisal that never was finalized, which valued the stadium at about $40 million.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...prove-chase-field-sale-negotiations/88907516/

 

[82CardsGrad]

I guess i have a few questions.
1. If the county sells the stadium, does the county still owe the the remaining balance on the loan they used to pay the $253 million for the stadium (whatever that amount may be)? I would think that is the case and they would use whatever proceeds from the sale to pay off the balance but the sales tax would probably remain within the county until its expiration.

Since the county itself stated their minimum asking price of $60 million, my gut is that they have been pretty successful in paying down that loan.

2. Can anyone speculate why a private company would want to buy the stadium/stadium district?

This is actually my biggest question. I'm sure there are a zillion factors going into their decision, however, it's really difficult to see how, from an investment & financial perspective, this would be a winner...Keeping the team in Chase is a good thing and if/when they get their crap together, there would obviously be more butts in seats and more revenue being produced. Will all of that revenue flow only to this investment group, or, will there be some type of revenue sharing with the team? Additionally, what other events can be housed at Chase at a frequency that would generate the millions of dollars in additional revenue I would think would be required to make this type of an investment financially feasible? Concerts? With Gila River and Talking Stick arenas to compete with? I dunno... Seems very odd to me...

3. I know the city of Phoenix has been really putting a lot of investment into the downtown area. Wouldn't they not want a private company to buy this real estate?

I would think the City of Phoenix would welcome an owner of the stadium who is committed to creating a state of art facility. This group has stated their intent to do just that... And, I would also think the team is pushing hard for this transaction as well...

 

[bankybruce]

On the radio this morning here in Portland they were talking about it. Someone mentioned that maybe they could more here because of this since every time a team has issues, local Portland people want a team. The local host said the D-Backs have a say in who buys it and can stop any deal that they are not comfortable with. They also mentioned it was their suggestion to sell, not the counties.

FWIW

I bet the current ownership will have a stake in any company that buys it.

 

[az240zz]

If the price stays at the 60 million level why wouldn't the Dbacks buy it...

 

[overseascardfan]

If the price stays at the 60 million level why wouldn't the Dbacks buy it...

Because they would also have to foot the renovation bill of over $100M.

 

[Bodha]

Because they would also have to foot the renovation bill of over $100M.

Still less than theyre paying Greinke. They can afford it.

 

[az240zz]

But isn't that bill over a 10 year period and be extended to 15 years?? Wouldn't owning the stadium be advantageous to them? Especially including the land...

 

[overseascardfan]

Still less than theyre paying Greinke. They can afford it.

Sure they can afford it but does KK want to pony up the cash or not is the question?

 

[Bodha]

Sure they can afford it but does KK want to pony up the cash or not is the question?

answer is not.

There needs to be a sweeping, colluding agreement amongst all cities in all states to stop giving sports teams money. They are billionaires and the leagues are multi billion dollar institutions. The gall for a franchise to demand tax payers buy them stadiums is abhorrent to me.

 

[Dback Jon]

Chase Field was paid off before the stadium opened

 

[bankybruce]

Sure they can afford it but does KK want to pony up the cash or not is the question?

Even if he wants to pony up the cash, the D-Backs would be stupid to buy it. As I stated before, I would not be surprised to see the company that buys it have KK invested in it in some way. They still pay rent and then that is a write off for operating expenses. In a round about way, the D-Backs will end up owning it and the cost will be for around $180 million with a large portion of that being repairs done and the country ends up giving them the stadium in return for them paying for the repairs. And because the Stadium is paid for, the county saves a ton of money doing this and the D-Backs generate more money in fees and advertising.

 

[devilalum]

I'm hoping this means a LOT more monster truck events.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Potential buyer backs out of deal to buy Chase Field

http://www.abc15.com//news/region-p...-to-buy-chase-field?audiencePageId=1967107928

A group interested in buying Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, has backed out of negotiations.

The Maricopa County Stadium District Board of Directors, which has owned the stadium since its construction in the mid-1990s, announced Monday that Stadium Real Estate Partners II had decided against buying the stadium.

The group began the process of selling the stadium in August, when the county board voted 5-0 to authorize the Diamondbacks to enter into negotiations about the sale.

According to the letter sent by Stadium Real Estate Partners II to the county, the Diamondbacks refused to meet with their potential new landlords and demanded financial documentation as a precondition to any meeting. The records requested by the team included evidence of its financial condition, funding sources and corporate structure.

Any discussion of investment by a potential buyer is "rendered moot because of the lack of cooperation and courtesies by the Diamondbacks," the partners wrote.

"We have been informed of the prospective buyer's decision and are deeply offended that Mr. Greenberg would suggest we have been uncooperative when we have merely asked for answers to the same questions the buyer agreed to provide to the County," the D-backs said in a statement released to ABC15.

"In fact, in the agreement between the two parties, it was agreed upon that, 'Upon written request the Buyer shall provide proof of financial capability.' For any sophisticated business arrangement, and as a partner in the stadium, this basic information is more than reasonable. We have always been willing to meet and would do so enthusiastically if a basic legitimacy of the buyers were to first be established."

The county says it remains committed to holding the Diamondbacks to a lease that commits the team to Chase Field through 2028.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Something tells me the team aka Kendrick made this transition very difficult...for whatever reason.