Arizona House passes tax recapture bill for Chase Field, which moves to Senate
The Arizona House of Representatives passed HB 2704, a tax recapture bill that will fund renovations for Chase Field, on Wednesday.
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The Arizona House of Representatives passed HB 2704, a tax recapture bill that will fund renovations at Chase Field, with bipartisan support on Wednesday.
The vote came out to 35-25, and the bill moves onto the Arizona Senate. If it passes there, it will end up on the desk of Gov. Katie Hobbs to sign into law.
The bill would recapture sales taxes collected at Chase Field along with income taxes from team employees back into the ballpark for upkeep.
The Arizona Diamondbacks expect Chase Field renovations would take three to five years and cost $400-$500 million. The team has claimed it will put $200-$300 million of its own money into renovations. Updates include infrastructure — notably the outdated HVAC system as well as pipes, plumbing and concrete — along with more visible upgrades such as the video board and club seating.
“There’s a total of 5.6% at the state level, we took the 0.6% that is designated for education and held it harmless to give that back to the state so that education wasn’t impacted,” D-backs president and CEO Derrick Hall said on Feb. 17. “At the county, what we’re considering right now of the 0.7% sales tax that you get from the county, 0.2% of that has been designated for jail … We want to continue having that go towards the jail system and that was voted on.
“Then in the city, what we’re looking at of their 2.3%, taking the 0.3% that is designated for fire, police, first responders, public safety and leaving that where it is. So we’re giving up some financial opportunity … so that we don’t lose any of those services.”
HB 2704, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Weninger, was introduced on Jan. 29 and has gone through amendments, such as a $10 million penalty if the D-backs leave Arizona before 2035.
Hobbs has been supportive of the legislation, she told AZCentral.com, but the bill has faced its share of critics, such as Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego.
“Today, the State House will consider H.B. 2704, which subsidizes renovations to Chase Field with hundreds of millions hard-earned tax dollars,” Gallego wrote in a social media post on Tuesday. “It takes $200 million from the city of Phoenix alone, which will have a real impact on our ability to pay for police and fire services.”
The Diamondbacks are nearing the end of their lease at Maricopa County-owned Chase Field, which runs out in 2027.
Diamondbacks release statement after Chase Field bill passes in Arizona House
“Today was a first step victory in this much-needed public/private partnership,” Hall said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It shows the momentum that has been behind this bill and we are grateful to Representative Wenninger and Governor Hobbs for the leadership and encouragement, as well as all House Representatives who supported it. Allowing this proud franchise to remain at Chase Field for continued economic and community impact is in the best interest of the city, county, state and Major League Baseball.”
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Comments
1 Comments
Good stuff. Hope they can make that place one of the best ballparks in the sport again.
"The bill would recapture sales taxes collected at Chase Field along with income taxes from team employees back into the ballpark for upkeep."
This is hilarious! These swindlers actually want you to believe that this money will come only from that, and taxpayers who don't go to Chase Field won't be affected. They assume we are idiots. Of course right now taxes collected from sales at Chase Field as well as income taxes from team employees go into the general fund, which pays for everything from roads, to schools, to police. If that is TAKEN AWAY (to pay for renovations to make the billionaire Dbacks owners even richer), then guess what? You and I have to pay MORE in taxes to make up the difference!!!
These scumbags will try any tactic to rip money out of your wallet and put it into the hands of billionaires. THAT is what you get for voting for Republicans. You deserve it. But you really ought to fight this one as it will cost you dearly.
Feed that billionaire team owner. We got the money.