Maricopa County to discuss possible sale of Chase Field, home of Diamondbacks

PHOENIX — Maricopa County officials will meet Wednesday to discuss the possible sale of Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In a press release, the county said its stadium district directors will meet at 1:30 p.m. to discuss and vote on signing a letter of intent with Integral Group, a “potential purchaser of Chase Field in downtown Phoenix.”

The minimum purchase price the county will consider is $60 million and said the team would be required to agree to the sale.

Integral Group said it wants to keep the D-backs playing ball at Chase Field and would complete stadium improvements agreed on by the team within a two-year window.

In a brief statement, the team said it was looking into the details of the deal and, until it has a firmer grasp of the terms, “it would be premature for the team to comment.”

The Diamondbacks and county have squared off in recent months over the condition of the team’s home.

In March, it was reported that the D-backs were considering ending their lease at Chase Field so they could find themselves a newer, more updated ballpark.

According to the team, the Stadium District (which oversees the ball park) has not met its obligations to fund improvements, and will not be able to pay for $187 million worth of repairs the county determined needed to be done.

The county fired back at the assertion that it has not lived up to its side of the lease agreement.

“Something that was very important to me, as a person, this agreement has been a pretty much living, breathing document for the last 20 years,” Clint Hickman, Maricopa County supervisor from District 4, said in March. “And has helped us, both my predecessor boards as well as this current board, understanding what this agreement is and how to enforce it and how to work and abide by it.

“One of the things I would like to bring to attention is one that gave me pause: the team specifically agreed that all cities and towns within Maricopa County would be irreparably harmed by any attempted or actual relocation of the team, and they were all made third party beneficiaries with certain rights to enforce that section.”

In a March statement, Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall said the team wants “to remain in downtown Phoenix and we would like nothing better than for that to occur at Chase Field, if that is possible.”

Chase Field has been the Diamondbacks’ home since their inaugural season in 1998. It is currently the fifth-oldest stadium in the National League.