The potential deal for private investors to buy Chase Field from Maricopa County for a minimum of $60 million appears dead.
The announcement comes after Maricopa County agreed to pay $47,000 to have the stadium appraised.
A lawyer for the investors sent a letter to county officials on Monday saying the deal was off.
Martin J. Greenberg wrote that the Arizona Diamondbacks had set “unreasonable and rather dubious conditions” for meeting with his clients, and despite multiple requests, a summit never occurred.
The Diamondbacks released the following statement:
"We have been informed of the prospective buyer's decision and are deeply offended that Mr. Greenberg would suggest we have been uncooperative when we have merely asked for answers to the same questions the buyer agreed to provide to the County," the statement said. "In fact, in the agreement between the two parties, it was agreed upon that, 'Upon written request the Buyer shall provide proof of financial capability.' For any sophisticated business arrangement, and as a partner in the stadium, this basic information is more than reasonable. We have always been willing to meet and would do so enthusiastically if a basic legitimacy of the buyers were to first be established."
The letter from the investors’ lawyer could be a negotiating ploy, said Jim Bruner, former chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
“Seems like there should be a way to get a compromise (on) this,” said Bruner, who negotiated the stadium deal in the 1990s. "To show that the buyer has the potential to do it in good faith. So that the Diamondbacks won’t feel they’re opening their books up to somebody that doesn’t really have the ability to make something happen.”
Greenberg also wrote that his clients believe it would cost roughly $80 million to repair structural issues in the less than 20-year-old facility, which is less than half the “greatly exaggerated” $187 million the Diamondbacks have argued the county should pay to upgrade the stadium.
“I would hope that some contractor could come and give an estimate that both sides could agree upon at what the cost to the fix the damages would be,” Bruner said.
Maricopa County officials said the club still has the option to buy the less than 20-year-old stadium.
