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Chase Field Lawsuit Costs Skyrocket
The ongoing lawsuit between MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks and Maricopa County regarding repairs to
The Diamondbacks filed suit in January against the Maricopa County Stadium District to remove a clause in its lease that prevents the team from exploring other stadium options. The team is contracted to play at the county-owned Chase Field until 2028.
– Chase Field
Team officials think the county should pay as much as $187 million in repairs to the 60,000-capacity facility built in 1998.
County officials disagree, claiming many of the requested upgrades are cosmetic so the team should pay for them.
A judge ordered the parties to negotiate outside of court weeks ago but they failed to do so.
Diamondbacks attorney Leo Beus claims the situation needs to be settled soon.
“We’re running out of time,” Beus told The Republic of Arizona. “We’ve got a real problem with that stadium … Delay’s a killer for us.”
County officials say they’ve tried to work with the Diamondbacks but the team’s timeline is unrealistic.
“We’re talking about them wanting at least $60 million to be paid for repairs in the next year,” county attorney John Williams told The Republic. “It is not fair to (arbitrate so quickly) a matter of that magnitude, particularly not the magnitude of moving the team or allowing them to go somewhere else.”
The judge decided Sept. 22 to secure a different judge to help the parties to agree on arbitration guidelines and find some mutual ground.