D-backs’ Hall on rift with county over Chase Field lease extension: ‘I don’t see a deal in sight’

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been negotiating with Maricopa County about extending their lease agreement at Chase Field with the current deal ending in 2027, but the cordial talks took a negative turn this week.

AZCentral.com published a summary of letters from this week that show suddenly contentious exchanges between the D-backs and county. Maricopa County sent a counteroffer that Diamondbacks CEO and president Derrick Hall in a private reply called “extremely offensive.”

Hall confirmed Thursday to Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta the relationship has taken a sour turn in the past week. In fact, he said he now doesn’t “see a deal in sight” with the current lease expiring in 2027.

“It was definitely the offer, the counterproposal, which is in my words ridiculous,” Hall said of what offended him. “But also the fact that they went public with it. I don’t understand it. For quite some time, I’ve used words like ‘encouraging, optimistic.’ Those words are gone, for sure. And it’s sad.

“I mean, they decided to go public with this rather than to do what we’ve done all along, quietly, privately, respectfully. You go attorney to attorney, it stays confidential. They then send us a response and a counter and make it public and it goes into the media, and that’s just their side of the situation.”

Among the problematic parts of a counteroffer sent to the team is that the county is asking for a D-backs commitment of about $200 million if it wants to unlock zoning for mixed-use developments of restaurants, hotels and retail around the ballpark, Hall said.

D-backs' Derrick Hall 'doesn't see a deal in sight' for Chase Field after a letter from the county.

Derrick Hall's visit with Bickley & Marotta is presented by All Pro Shade Concepts.

Full interview: https://t.co/bdUZ8KG55l pic.twitter.com/u2H5mU2MXX

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) September 19, 2024

Assistant county manager Zach Schira told AZCentral.com that the offer was “fair” and the county is committed to keeping the team at Chase Field. But the county did not respond to AZCentral.com when asked for a response to the D-backs’ public statements about the counteroffer.

Hall told Arizona Sports that the article shows how difficult the county has been to deal with.

D-backs’ relationship with Maricopa County over Chase Field has an up and down history

The Diamondbacks had reached a gulf with Maricopa County a half-decade ago over who is in charge of the stadium — it is county-owned — but reached a deal that allowed the D-backs to take control of non-baseball events such as concerts. That put the team squarely in charge of keeping Chase Field up to date, the county has maintained.

Up until this week, Hall had said the relationship with the county was in a good place.

Separate discussions for the Diamondbacks about how to fund Chase Field upgrades revolved around a tax recapture similar to how the Arizona Cardinals fund upgrades and maintenance at State Farm Stadium.

But this week, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers’ response and counteroffer to a letter sent by Hall this summer took a different tone.

“I can’t figure out why they want it to be public. It just shows how bad of a proposal it was,” Hall told Bickley & Marotta. “This is a government authority that has proven all along that they do not have the desire nor the ability to put any money into their own building. Not a penny. And you can see it in their proposal.

“Here they are asking us to sign a 50-year extension without any public funding at the time — which we’re trying to seek through tax recollection, which is very realistic — and still asking us nonetheless to not even pursue mixed use, which we have said all along we need with restaurant, hotel, retail around the ballpark. And they say they won’t allow us to even talk about that opportunity and quote-unquote unlock that opportunity and possibility until we’ve put nearly $200 million into the ballpark. Again, they’re not even putting a penny.”

Hall said the timeline to find a solution remains the first month or two of the 2025 calendar year.

The upcoming election before then also comes into play, with the author of the most testy letter to the D-backs, Sellers, having lost his primary, meaning he won’t return to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Two other supervisors didn’t seek reelection, meaning most of the current five-member board won’t be returning.

Still, Hall said Thursday the tone from the county has “taken the wind out of any sails.”

“I don’t see a deal now with the county, at least with this current board composition. I mean, it’s just impossible,” Hall said. “We’ll continue to work with the state and city and see if there’s a way to bail them out with their problems that they’re building.”

Hall said the D-backs will still pursue avenues to keep the team at Chase Field. A Nov. 5 general election stands between his deadline. Finding answers to how the Diamondbacks will fund stadium updates remains a challenge itself.

“We need to know there’s that partnership, that private-public partnership,” he said. “If we can find that by that time (in early 2025), we’ll be fine.”

Follow @kzimmermanaz