Report: D-backs signed NDA with Las Vegas amid potential relocation talks
Sep 12, 2019, 5:17 PM | Updated: 9:23 pm
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
A report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal says the Arizona Diamondbacks signed a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) with the city of Las Vegas more than a year ago amid potential relocation discussions.
The report notes there is no clarity on whether talks continued, that the talks were indeed about relocation in the first place and that the NDA indicated both parties were evaluating or pursuing “certain mutually beneficial opportunities.”
It follows news from August that Nevada officials had reached out to the D-backs in 2018 about potential relocation in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb. The NDA signed with Las Vegas was an agreement that came two weeks after the NDA with Henderson, per the report.
But any formal proposal that Las Vegas might have pitched was being kept confidential. Bill Arent, the city’s economic development director, notified the Diamondbacks of a public records request filed by the Review-Journal seeking electronic communications between the two sides. In a letter to Arent on Tuesday, the Diamondbacks requested the city not disclose such communications, citing a Nevada statute that calls for a city-formed economic development agency to keep records confidential at the request of a client.
The D-backs provided a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“We’re focused on Arizona and a local solution and have not made any determination on the future stadium site for the Diamondbacks,” a team spokesperson said.
Those reports come after an updated lease agreement between the D-backs and Maricopa County was made in May 2018.
Henderson has worked on bringing sports teams to the city in some capacity.
Last year, the NFL’s Oakland Raiders and Henderson agreed to build a headquarters and training facility. The Raiders will make the move from Oakland to Las Vegas next year.
Last May, the city also struck a deal with the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights on a community ice arena in the downtown area. The Knights have been in Las Vegas since 2017.
D-backs president Derrick Hall commented on the Henderson report on Aug. 2.
“This goes back to a year-and-a-half, two years ago where we opened it up and we had the ability to look anywhere, everywhere,” Hall said to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Doug & Wolf. “With those requests, we heard from a lot of cities.”
As Hall would state multiple times and the report itself additionally said, the franchise doesn’t plan on going anywhere.
“That’s because we’re still focused on Arizona,” Hall said of the talks not progressing. “All along we’ve wanted to stay right here and find a solution. Whether it’s downtown at Chase Field or somewhere in Maricopa County.”
