A bill that would set up a way to pay for repairs and upgrades at Chase Field had been working its way through the state Legislature this year but recently had stalled. Now, negotiations between the governor’s office, lawmakers, the team, city of Phoenix and Maricopa County seem to be leading to optimism that there can be a deal reached before the end of the session.
Under the original version of the plan, sales tax revenue generated at Chase Field would go into a fund for the stadium. It would have also included income taxes from stadium employees. But city and county officials worried about the amount of money that would be diverted away from their coffers under that arrangement.
Stacey Barchanger, state politics reporter for the Arizona Republic, has written about a recent meeting that seems to have made some progress toward a compromise, although a seemingly off-handed comment has also become part of the story.
Barchanger joined The Show to discuss, starting with that comment that one of the participants made about tying this bill to the future of the Cactus League.
Full conversation
MARK BRODIE: Let's start with that comment that one of the participants made about basically tying this bill to the future of the Cactus League. Is that right?
STACEY BARCHENGER: Yeah, so this comment came at the end of this private meeting last week in the governor's office about what this Diamondbacks bill looks like. It was made by Andrew Cohn, who describes himself as sort of this intermediary, who is there just for the benefit of the city and the team, to get a deal done.
And, depending on who you talk to, who was in the room, some, a couple of people took it as an insinuation or a threat that there could be consequences for spring training if a deal is not reached, but Cohn denies that that was his intention.
BRODIE: The implication being that Major League Baseball would either remove or reduce the size of the Cactus League if the Dbacks, for example, could not get this bill done and and didn't stay in Phoenix.
BARCHENGER: Yes, that they would pull spring training, and I should say the team says that there is no association between this deal and spring training, and I have not spoken to anyone who, who thinks that that is a reality, but this is apparently how the comment was made in the meeting.
BRODIE: So what did Cohn say he actually did mean by that comment?
BARCHENGER: Yeah, so he said that there was a discussion about what would happen if they couldn't reach a deal, and that he had spoken to former MLB commissioner Bud Selig, who he considers a friend, kind of about this situation. He told me, and I will quote him here, “that it is a terrible look to have such a commitment to the Cactus League and spring training in Arizona and not have a hometown team here.” That's how he recalls the conversation.
BRODIE: And of course, the implication there is that if this bill doesn't pass, the Diamondbacks presumably leave Chase Field, maybe just leave the valley altogether.
BARCHENGER: That there is some presumption there, but I will say the Diamondbacks have said again and again and again that they are committed to Phoenix and they're committed to Arizona and they are not leaving.
BRODIE: So who is Andrew Cohn? You you refer to him as sort of a self-described intermediary for both the city and the team, but it should be noted that on this particular issue, the city and the team do not necessarily see eye to eye on what the right answer is.
BARCHENGER: Yeah, that's exactly right, and he, you know, he's been involved for several years on negotiations between the team and the county over Chase Field and the lease and the, you know, the repairs that have led to this bill, or I guess the discussion about who pays for the repairs that have led to this bill.
And he says that he was invited to this meeting by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. The city says that is incorrect, but he describes it as him being there on behalf of the city and the team's interests, and that he is, you know, a representative of citizens, right, that he's just trying to reach a deal so that the Diamondbacks stay in Arizona.
BRODIE: So this is a bill that has gone through a couple of different iterations. Does it seem as though there might be some agreement between the team and the city and the county over how to handle maybe diverting some amount of tax revenue from those levels of government to the team to fund repairs and upgrades at the stadium?
BARCHENGER: Yeah, I mean, we, you know, after this, this closed-door meeting we heard optimism coming from Governor Katie Hobbs, whose office led that meeting, Maricopa County Supervisor Tom Galvin said he felt really good about it.
Mayor Gallego has not commented publicly, so that's sort of still hanging out there, but it sounds like what they talked about is sort of, you know, blending these different aspects of versions of the bill that have been, you know, put in and then taken out, over the last four months, to come to some agreement.
BRODIE: I know that there's been some talk, for example, of putting a cap on the amount of tax revenue that would be diverted for example from the city and the county to the stadium so that maybe the city and the county could still get some of that sales tax revenue. Is that something that seems to be on the table?
BARCHENGER: Yeah, that was, that was discussed, in the meeting, both a cap for the city of Phoenix to limit the amount of, you know, sales tax hit that they take, and then also an overall cap so that there is some limit on the number of taxpayer dollars that come from the city, state and county to pay for repairs at Chase Field.
BRODIE: And I know that earlier on the tax would also have included income taxes from employees at Chase Field, including the Diamondbacks players themselves. Is that still something under consideration?
BARCHENGER: Yeah, that's apparently is back in. That had been taken out of the latest version of the bill, but now I guess it's back under discussion. It would be the income tax from players and other employees at Chase Field that would go, you know, from the state's coffers back to repairs at the stadium.
BRODIE: What is it about the sort of the talks and maybe what is seeming to emerge in this new version of the bill that is giving folks like Supervisor Galvin confidence?
BARCHENGER: Well, I mean, based on the notes and what I have heard about this meeting, you know, the county was really worried that they would take a greater tax hit. In the latest version of the bill, but it seems like that has been limited to just impacting or pulling from their road tax. So I think that is certainly a point of optimism.
It seems like there are some caps that have discussed that like the mayor and the county had wanted. Although I should say, you know, this is all under discussion. There is another meeting this week. Nothing has been written down yet, which I think is when we will really see what the final sort of agreement looks like.
BRODIE: Yeah, so I was gonna ask, there's another meeting scheduled for this week. Does it seem as though this is something that the parties are confident can get done as the session maybe in theory starts to be considered to be winding down a little bit?
BARCHENGER: Yeah, I mean, they certainly are saying publicly that they think they can get this across the finish line as the session winds down.
